Highlights
- Eyewitnesses said several women and children were on the British-era “hanging bridge” when it snapped, plunging them into the water below.
- Around 500 people, including women and children, were on the suspension bridge when the cables supporting it snapped, sending people crashing into the river below.
As many as 141 people, including women and children, died after a 150-year-old suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Gujarat’s Morbi city collapsed on Sunday evening. Some 177 people have been saved and teams are searching for several others who are still missing.
500 people were on the bridge
Around 500 people, including women and children, were on the suspension bridge when the cables supporting it snapped, sending people crashing into the river below.
People fell on top of each other after the bridge snapped. Videos showed many desperately clinging to the remains of the bridge while some were seen swimming to safety. Many were performing Chhath puja rituals on the centuries-old bridge located 300 km from Vadodara.
Five teams of National Disaster Response Force or NDRF worked through the night to find the missing. The Army, Navy and Air Force also joined the operation later.
PM Modi offers condolences to families of victims
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Gujarat, said rescue and relief operations have been going on since yesterday and the centre is extending all help to the state. He said while he was pained, but also has to follow the path of duty.
The state government has announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the family members of each of those who died in the accident and ₹ 50,000 for the injured. The Prime Minister also announced a financial assistance of ₹ 2 lakh each to the families of the victims.
Officials confirmed that the bridge, which reopened four days ago after extensive repairs and renovation, was crammed with people when it collapsed around 6:30 pm.
Eyewitnesses said several women and children were on the British-era “hanging bridge” when it snapped, plunging them into the water below.
An eyewitness said some people jumped on the bridge and pulled its suspension wires. He added that the bridge may have collapsed due to the “huge crowd” on it.
People fell over each other when the bridge collapsed, he said.
The suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Gujarat’s Morbi that collapsed on Sunday evening, was reopened for the public just four days back after seven months of repair work by a private firm but had not received the municipality’s “fitness certificate,” an official said.
“I had come to the river bank with friends after my office hours when we heard the sound of the bridge snapping. We rushed there and jumped into the water to save people,” an eyewitness said.
“We rescued some children and women,” he said.
Due to the Diwali holiday and the fact that it was a Sunday, there was a surge of travelers on the bridge, a popular tourist attraction. A private operator reconstructed the bridge after about six months until it reopened to the public on October 26, Gujarati New Year’s Day.
A fire department official said boats were being used to rescue people from the river.
“We are carrying out rescue work using boats. There are around 40-50 people in the river,” the official said.
Collapsed Morbi suspension bridge reopened four days back after 7-month-long repair work; it lacked the civic body’s fitness certificate.
The National Disaster Response Force rushed three teams to the Morbi district.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said the tragedy saddened him. “Relief and rescue operations by the administration are going on. The administration has been instructed to arrange immediate treatment for the injured. I am in constant contact with the district administration in this regard,” he said.
The Chief Minister’s Office said an isolation ward has also been set up in the civil hospital to treat those injured in the bridge collapse.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a tweet that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, currently in Gujarat, spoke to Patel and officials.
Modi sought urgent mobilization of teams for rescue ops, the PMO said, adding that the PM has asked that the situation be monitored closely and all possible help be extended to those affected.
President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar expressed grief over the bridge collapse and prayed for the safe rescue of others.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the bridge collapse deeply saddened him and appealed to party workers in the state to extend every possible assistance in rescue work.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi also said the news of the bridge collapse accident was very saddening and appealed to all Congress workers to extend all possible help to the injured.
CPI leader Binoy Viswam hit out at the BJP over the bridge collapse, claiming that it points to the “gross negligence” of the state government.
