Kolkata flyover collapse: Office of Hyderabad-based construction firm sealed

Hyderabad: Police on Thursday sealed the local office of IVRCL, a Hyderabad-based company which had taken up the construction work a flyover here, a portion of which collapsed on a congested road intersection killing 18 people.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Debasish Boral told reporters that the local office of the company has been sealed and a case registered against it under IPC sections 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt cto commit culpable homicide) and 407 (criminal breach of trust by carrier, etc).

"It's nothing but a God's act" was how a senior official of IVRCL reacted after the flyover it was constructing in Kolkata collapsed on Thursady even as a company official denied any quality or technical issue as the cause behind the incident "as of now".

"It's nothing but a God's act. So far in 27 years we have constructed several number of bridges it (today's collapse) never happened," K Panduranga Rao, Group Head (HR & Admin) of the Hyderabad-based company told reporters.

Two of IVRCL engineers are also missing from the collapsed site, he said, adding, searches are in progress to find them.

When asked about the reason for the collapse, Director (Operations), A G K Murty, said, "It's not due to any quality issue nor any technical issue, as of now". Murty said that 70 per cent of work on construction of the flyover had been completed, and today 60th slab was being "done" (when it collapsed).

The two officials said the company would cooperate with government agencies.

"Whatever best possible, we will be doing. All the projects have their own insurance whatever best possible, we will be doing for the people involved", Murty said.

"We are in deep shock. We at the management are also in shock, we are waiting for what's happened. We are checking," the officials added.