As many as 135 bodies were being recovered, 180 persons were rescued and still many people are feared missing till Monday morning, after a suspension bridge collapsed on the Machhu river in the Morbi town of Gujarat.
The search operation is likely to continue for another 24 hours, police said. Morbi town will voluntarily observe a bandh on Monday to mourn the deaths of people who died in the incident. Army, Navy, Air Force, NDRF, Fire Brigade are conducting search operations, said Gujarat Information Department
The suspension bridge — 200 km from Ahmedabad — collapsed at 6.42on Sunday when around 500 people had congregated on it to perform some rituals in connection with the Chhath puja.
Eyewitnesses say there were several women and children on the nearly 150-year-old bridge when cables supporting it snapped, sending scores of people tumbling into the river below.
“Around 177 people have been rescued. 19 people are under treatment. The Army, Navy, Air Force, NDRF, and Fire Brigade are conducting search operations,” said the Gujarat Information Department.
The five teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been working overnight to rescue those who fell into the Machhu river.
“The rescue operation is still underway. Indian Army had reached here around 3 at night. We are trying to recover the bodies. Teams of NDRF are also carrying out rescue operations,” said Major Gaurav, Indian Army.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to take cognisance of the matter and ordered an urgent mobilisation of teams for rescue ops. While several bodies were fished out from the river and sent for post-mortem, the injured were rushed to Morbi civil hospital.
After the incident took place, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel rushed to Morbi to personally monitor the rescue operations and medical services. He also announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 financial help to those injured in the accident. The chief minister is likely to camp in Morbi till the rescue operations are not over.
Even PM Modi announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh from Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of each of those who lost their lives in the mishap in Morbi. The injured will be given Rs. 50,000.
Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi also inspected the incident site in Morbi. “A criminal case has been registered. An investigation has begun today under the leadership of Range IGP,” he said.
The century-old bridge, which reopened five days ago after extensive repairs and renovation, was crammed with people when it collapsed around 6:30 pm on Sunday evening.
