Morbi Bridge Collapse: In an incident of pedestrian suspension bridge collapse in Morbi, 141 deaths have been confirmed. The incident took place in India’s western state of Gujarat.
According to a local official, majority of the deaths included women, children or elderly. The bridge in Morbi had been reopened only a week ago after repairs.
Overcrowding led to Morbi bridge collapse
The officials maintain that the overcrowding on the bridge when the incident took place was because people celebrated the festival of Diwali.
The built, 230m (754ft) in length, was built on the Machchu river during British rule in the 19th Century.
As per the official statements, death toll is expected to increase further.
For rescue operations, police, military and disaster response teams were deployed. The rescue operations are ongoing. As per the officials, over 177 people have been rescued till now.
News agency Reuters quoted an eye witness saying, “Many children were enjoying holidays for Diwali and they came here as tourists. All of them fell one on top of another. The bridge collapsed due to overloading.” The bridge was designed to take the weight of only about 125 people.
Several people could be seen holding onto the wreckage in social media videos as rescue workers tried to reach them. Some of the survivors managed to climb the shattered net of the bridge, while others were able to swim to the banks of the river.
While hundreds of people were walking on the ‘hanging bridge’, cables supporting it snapped, and the people went down into the river below. The Morbi bridge is a major tourist attraction in the region.
Reports also suggest the same wherein hundreds of people were on the bridge when it collapsed at around 18:40 India time (13:10 GMT) on Sunday.
A video footage made before the bridge collapse showed it full of people swaying and many of them holding the netting tightly on its sides. Some of them toppled over each other and some swam to safety.
Rescue operations going on
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who hails from Gujarat, has announced compensation for the families of victims. He expressed grief at the incident and said he was “deeply saddened by the tragedy”.
PM @narendramodi has announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF for the next of kin of each of those who lost their lives in the mishap in Morbi. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) October 30, 2022
Chief District Medical Officer of Morbi P K Didhrejiya informed that at least 60 of the 79 injured people admitted in the Morbi Civil Hospital were in serious condition. While Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi, who visited Morbi, informed about 150 people were present on the bridge when the incident took place.
Mohan Kundariya, Member of Parliament from Rajkot, a Gujarat city, said, “More than 60 bodies have been fished out (by 9:45 pm) and the rescue operation is still in progress. The fire brigade, NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) and private divers are trying to rescue people. Efforts are on to break a check dam downstream so that the water level recedes in the stretch where the bridge stood.”
“There is water hyacinth in the river, which is hampering rescue operations,” he further added.
The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) released a statement, saying, three NDRF teams, 50 Navy personnel, 30 IAF personnel, two columns of Indian Army, and seven fire brigade teams had been sent to Morbi. A separate ward for the injured has been set up at Morbi Civil Hospital.
