Four bodies were recovered on Tuesday from the rubble of a partially-constructed bridge which gave way over Chambal river here, raising the death toll to 34 even as NHAI gave a clean chit to two companies in connection with the accident.
Rescuers, including navy divers, extricated four more bodies from the debris, Additional District Magistrate P C Pavan said adding 14 were still missing and believed to be trapped under the debris. With four more fatalities, the death toll in the accident rose to 34, he said.
Three of the four bodies were identified as those of Puna Dev, aged 23, Buddishewar Mandal, 43, both hailing from West Bengal, and Mukesh, 29, a resident of Jharkhand.
Forty-seven people were engaged in work when the bridge, which was under construction, collapsed over river Chambal on Thursday.
The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI)_gave a clean chit to construction firms -- Gammon India and Hyundai Engineering -- in connection with crumbling of the bridge.
"We have not found Gammon India and Hyundai guilty," NHAI chairman Brijeshawar Singh told reporters at the scene of the accident.
There were "some technical reasons" behind the collapse, he said adding the project would be delayed by nine to 12 months and was likely to be completed by December 2011. PTI
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