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
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
Taiwan’s first African swine fever (ASF) case has been confirmed and would soon be reported to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) yesterday. The Ministry of Agriculture’s Veterinary Research Institute yesterday completed the analysis of samples collected on Tuesday from dead pigs at a hog farm in Taichung and found they were ASF-positive. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency Animal Quarantine Division chief Lin Nien-nung (林念農) said the result would be reported to the WOAH and Taiwan’s major trade partners would also be notified, adding that pork exports would be suspended. As of Friday, all samples
RSS