Five held over deadly India flyover collapse as hopes of finding survivors fade

Five people involved in the building of a flyover which collapsed in India killing at least 25 people have been arrested. The officials, who work for a company called IVRCL Infrastructure are being questioned about how the partially built structure came to collapse in the city of Kolkata. Hopes are now fading of finding any more survivors in the rubble of the flyover, which collapsed on to the road beneath it. Rescuers worked through the night to pull up to 100 people from underneath the concrete slabs and iron girders which crashed on to pedestrians and traffic.

The rescue operation is in its last phase. There is no possibility of finding any person alive

S.S. Guleria, deputy inspector general of the India’s National Disaster Response Force

With half of the wreckage cleared on Friday morning, the death toll from the disaster had risen to 25 with dozens more injured. However, by midday rescuers said there was little hope of finding anyone else alive. It remains unclear exactly what caused the flyover to collapse. An injured builder, who was working on the structure before it collapsed, said he saw bolts come out of the metal girders. “We were cementing two iron girders for the pillars, but the girders couldn’t take the weight of the cement,” said 30-year-old Milan Sheikh. "The bolts started coming out this morning and then the flyover came crashing down.“

The flyover collapsed in front of me. When I tried to escape, I was hit

Injured housewife Sabita Devi

kolkata flyover