Suspension bridge collapse kills at least 133 in India

MORBI, India (AP) — Army groups had been looking out Monday for individuals lacking after a century-old cable suspension bridge collapsed right into a river Sunday within the western Indian state of Gujarat, sending a whole lot plunging into the water and killing no less than 133 in one of many nation’s worst accidents in years.

As households mourned the lifeless, consideration was turning to why the bridge, constructed by the British within the late 1800s and touted as an “engineering marvel,” collapsed and who could be accountable.

The native authorities had awarded a 15-year contract to take care of and handle the bridge to a Morbi-based firm, Ajanta Manufacturing Pvt. Ltd., primarily recognized for making clocks, mosquito racquets and electrical bikes.

It reopened the bridge, which spans a large part of the Machchu river, on Oct. 26. That’s the primary day of the Gujarati New Yr, which coincides with the Hindu competition season, and the newly reopened attraction drew a whole lot of sightseers.

Sandeepsinh Zala, a Morbi metropolis official, informed the Indian Categorical newspaper the corporate had reopened the bridge with out first acquiring a “health certificates.” That declare couldn’t be independently verified, however the state authorities stated it had fashioned a particular crew to research the catastrophe.

Authorities stated the construction collapsed underneath the burden of a whole lot of individuals. Safety footage of the catastrophe confirmed bridge shaking violently and other people making an attempt to maintain maintain of its cables and green-colored metallic fencing earlier than the aluminum walkway gave method and crashed into the river.

Visuals from the catastrophe website confirmed the bridge break up within the center and the metallic walkway hanging down, its cables snapped in locations. A minimum of 177 survivors had been pulled from the river and groups from the military, navy and air drive had been on the lookout for others nonetheless lacking, stated Jigar Khunt, an info division official in Gujarat.

State minister Harsh Sanghvi informed reporters that 133 individuals had been confirmed lifeless and plenty of others had been admitted to hospitals in important situation. Emergency responders and rescuers labored in a single day to seek for the survivors. Many of the victims had been teenagers, girls and older individuals, he stated.

It was not instantly clear precisely how many individuals had been on the bridge when it collapsed however survivors stated it was so densely packed that the gang was unable to shortly transfer to security when its cable started to snap.

“There have been simply too many individuals on the bridge. We might barely transfer,” Sidik Bai, 27, stated whereas recovering from accidents in a hospital mattress in Morbi.

Sidik stated he jumped into the water when the bridge started to crack and noticed his pal being crushed by its metallic walkway. He survived by clinging to the bridge’s cables, however his pal didn’t make it.

“Everybody was crying for assist, however one after the other all of them started disappearing within the water,” Sidik stated.

Native information channels ran photos of the lacking shared by involved family members and relations raced to overcrowded hospitals trying to find their family members.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, visiting his residence state of Gujarat, stated he was “deeply saddened by the tragedy.” His workplace introduced compensation for households of the lifeless and known as for fast rescue efforts.

“Hardly ever in my life, would I’ve skilled such ache,” Modi stated throughout a public occasion within the state on Monday.

Modi was the highest elected official of Gujarat for 12 years earlier than changing into India’s prime minister in 2014. A Gujarat state authorities election is anticipated in coming months and opposition events have demanded an investigation into the collapse.

The bridge collapse is Asia’s third main catastrophe involving massive crowds in a month.

On Saturday, a Halloween crowd surge killed greater than 150 largely younger individuals who attended festivities in Itaewon, a neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea. On Oct. 1, police in Indonesia fired tear gasoline at a soccer match, inflicting a crush that killed 132 individuals as spectators tried to flee.

India’s infrastructure has lengthy been marred by security issues, and Mordi has suffered different main disasters. In 1979, an upstream dam on the Machchu river burst, sending partitions of water into town and killing a whole lot of individuals in one among India’s largest dam failures.

In 2001, hundreds of individuals died in an earthquake in Gujarat. Morbi city, 85 miles (150 km) from the quake’s epicenter in Bhuj, suffered widespread harm. Based on a report within the Occasions of India newspaper, the bridge that collapsed Sunday additionally was severely broken.

___

Aijaz Hussain, Saaliq and Pathi reported from New Delhi.