Gujarat bridge collapse death toll rises to 134: PM to visit Morbi Tuesday

Gujarat bridge collapse death toll rises to 134: PM to visit Morbi Tuesday

New Delhi

Gujarat police have taken a couple of people from the bridge management team who are questioning them, Rahul Tripathi, SP Morbi said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Morbi on Tuesday, November 1.

The historic bridge also called Jhulto Pul collapsed as around 400 people had assembled on the bridge, way beyond its capacity.

The death toll has increased to 134, Gujarat MoS Home Harsh Sanghavi.

The historic bridge collapsed as around 400 people had assembled on the bridge, way beyond its capacity.

The Gujarat government on its official website describes the ill-fated bridge as "an engineering marvel built at the turn of the century".

The suspension bridge, 233 meters (764 feet) long and 1.5 meters wide was inaugurated in 1880 during the British colonial period and made with materials shipped from England. 

The bridge, known as Jhulto Pul, is a popular facility used by walkers to cross river Machhu, connecting the Darbargadh Palace and LE Engineering College in Morbi. 

Reports said chaotic scenes were witnessed as thousands of people gathered at the accident site. Police had a tough time, conducting rescue operations and also decongesting traffic jams to make way for ambulances and rescue teams at the site.

Sadly, people were celebrating a festival on and around the 150-year-old bridge when it came crashing into the river at Morbi. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was touring his home state of Gujarat at the time, announced compensation for those killed and injured in the accident.
Modi "sought urgent mobilization of teams for rescue (operations)", his office tweeted.

"He has asked that the situation be closely and continuously monitored, and (for authorities to) extend all possible help to those affected."

Accidents from old and poorly maintained infrastructure including bridges are common in India. In 2016 the collapse of a flyover onto a busy street in the eastern city of Kolkata killed at least 26 people.

In 2011 at least 32 people were killed when a bridge packed with festival crowds collapsed near the hill town of Darjeeling. Less than a week later around 30 people were killed when a footbridge over a river in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh collapsed.

In 2006 at least 34 people were killed when a 150-year-old bridge collapsed on a passenger train at the railway station in the eastern state of Bihar. 

The bridge was reportedly reopened on Wednesday after seven months of repairs despite 'not having a safety certificate' and that video footage from Saturday showed it swaying wildly.

Authorities have quickly launched a rescue operation following the collapse, with boats and divers deployed to search for missing people late into the night.

Personnel from the Indian Army and Navy were also called for the rescue operation.

Authorities were planning to stop the water supply to the river from the nearby check dam and use pumps to de-water the river to speed up the search operation.

At least 134 people were killed after the colonial-era pedestrian bridge collapsed, sending scores of people tumbling into the river below, police said.  

Authorities said nearly 500 people, including women and children, were celebrating a religious festival on and around the nearly 150-year-old suspension bridge in Morbi in western India when cables supporting it snapped soon after dark on Sunday.

This brought the rickety structure in the state of Gujarat crashing into the river, spilling scores of people into the water while others clung desperately to the wreckage. 

"The death toll now stands at least 134," police said.

The bridge over the Machchhu river around 200 kilometers west of Ahmedabad.

"People fell on top of each other after the bridge collapsed," one witness told local media. "People had flocked to the bridge for rituals and because of the Diwali festival. Many children and women were among the victims."

News reports showed videos -- which could not be independently verified -- of people hanging on to what remained of the bridge or trying to swim to safety in the dark.