At least 137 people died in western India when a colonial-era pedestrian bridge packed with revelers collapsed into the river below, police said yesterday.
Nearly 500 people were celebrating the last day of the Diwali festival on and around the nearly 150-year-old suspension bridge in Morbi when supporting cables snapped after dark on Sunday.
CCTV footage showed the structure in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat swaying — with a few people apparently deliberately rocking it — before it suddenly gave way.
Photo: AFP
The walkway and one fence crashed into the river, leaving the other side dangling in mid-air and hundreds of people in the water.
“I saw the bridge collapse before my eyes,” said one witness who worked all night on rescue efforts, without giving his name.
“It was traumatic when a woman showed me a photo of her daughter and asked if I had rescued her. I could not tell her that her daughter had died,” he said.
News reports showed footage of people clinging onto the twisted remains of the bridge or trying to swim to safety in the dark.
Many Indians cannot swim and another Morbi resident, Ranjanbhai Patel, said he helped pull out those who had been able to reach the banks.
Local police chief P. Dekavadiya said that by yesterday afternoon, the death toll had risen to 137. They included about 50 children, the youngest being a two-year-old boy.
The bridge over the Machchhu River, a popular tourist spot, had only reopened several days earlier, after months of repairs.
Authorities launched a rescue operation following the collapse, with boats and divers searching the river all night and yesterday.
The bridge, 233m long and 1.5m wide, was inaugurated in 1880 by British colonial authorities and made with materials shipped from England, reports said.
Taipei yesterday sent its sympathies to India.
“The thoughts and prayers of the government & people of Taiwan go out to those affected by the tragic bridge collapse in Gujarat. We grieve with India at this time of loss & sadness,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote on Twitter.
The ministry said it has also conveyed its condolences to India Taipei Association Director-General Gourangalal Das.
No Taiwanese have so far been found to be among the casualties, the ministry said.
In case of emergency, Taiwanese in Inda are advised to call the 91-981-050-2610 emergency hotline for its representative office in India, the ministry said.
Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hsuan
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