India: More than 130 people who died in the collapse of a suspension bridge – Video

At least 130 people died in India when a colonial-era footbridge connecting the banks of a river collapsed on Sunday night in the western state of Gujarat, police said.

Authorities estimate that around 500 people, including many women and children, were taking part in religious celebrations on and around the bridge when the cables holding it up gave way as night fell.

“The death toll so far stands at 130,” Rahul Tripathi, a police officer in Morbi, where the disaster unfolded, told AFP, adding that around 15 other people had been hospitalized.

For his part, NK Machar, a local official, told Reuters news agency that the death toll had “increased to 132”.

The bridge over the river Matsou, which runs through Morbi, about 200 kilometers west of Ahmedabad, the largest city in the state of Gujarat, was built during the period of British colonial rule. It had just reopened to the public after months of maintenance.

“People fell on top of each other when the bridge gave way. They had gathered for the ceremonies of the festival of Diwali (ss. “of light”). There are many women and children among the victims,” ​​an eyewitness told an Indian media outlet.

P. Decavadiya, the police chief in Morbi, told AFP earlier that more than 130 people had been rescued.

Divers and soldiers

The suspension bridge, 233 meters long, it was built in 1880, with materials brought to Gujarat from England, according to Indian media. According to information broadcast by the television network NDTV, it reopened to the public last Wednesday after seven months of maintenance work, without a safety certificate being issued by the authorities.

The rescue operation involves divers, boats and dozens of army men.

Federal Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Gujarat — where he is from and where he rose to political prominence — called for “urgent mobilization of rescue teams” and help for all victims, his services said on Twitter.

Accidents on aging and poorly maintained infrastructure are common in India, especially on bridges.

In 2016, the collapse of an elevated footbridge over a busy road in the city of Kolkata (East) claimed the lives of at least 26 people.

In 2011, at least 32 people died when the bridge they were on collapsed during a religious festival in northeastern India, about 30 kilometers from the city of Darjeeling.

Less than a week later, around 30 more people died in the collapse of a footbridge connecting the two banks of a river in the state of Arunachal Pradesh (northeast).

In 2006, at least 34 people were killed when a bridge built 150 years earlier collapsed on an express passenger train at a station in Bihar state (east).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQHzOk0vAOs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qcuh1beENE

RES-EMP

Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.