The collapse of a bridge in Gujarat’s Morbi that was built during the British period killed at least 141 people Sunday night. As of right now, 177 individuals have been rescued and rescuers are still looking for more who may still be trapped.
On the suspension bridge were some 500 people, including women and children, when the cables sustaining it broke. Many of them fell into the river below.
The 150-year-old bridge was the site of several Chhath puja ceremonies not far from Vadodara.
Once the bridge gave way, people tumbled on top of one another. Some people were observed swimming to safety while others were seen helplessly clinging to the bridge’s ruins.
Seven months had passed since the bridge over the Machchhu river was reopened to traffic. On October 26, the first day of the Gujarati New Year, was reopened to the public.
“Renovations were completed last week. We, too, are in disbelief. We are currently conducting an investigation. The government acknowledges its role in this terrible event, “During an exclusive interview with NDTV, Brijesh Merja, the minister of labour and employment of Gujarat, made the following statement.
Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, is now in Gujarat and has said that rescue and relief activities have been ongoing since yesterday and that the federal government is providing all possible assistance to the state. He admitted that he was suffering, but that he had do what is right.
This morning, Gujarat’s Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi said that a criminal case had been filed and that a five-person, high-powered commission was looking into the bridge’s collapse. A case has been opened against the perpetrator for “culpable homicide not amounting to murder and purposeful conduct causing death,” he added.
Local municipal body chairman Sandipsinh Zala told NDTV that the restorer of the century-old bridge had not obtained a safety certificate before restoring it.
Throughout the night, five teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) searched for survivors. It was afterwards joined by the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
The state government has stated that each victim’s family would get Rs 4 lakh in compensation, with the wounded receiving 50,000. The Prime Minister also declared that the relatives of the slain will get financial help of two lakh rupees ($300,000).
