Morbi bridge collapse: India PM Modi to visit site
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Morbi district in India’s western state of Gujarat where a bridge collapse has killed more than a hundred people in one of the worst accidents in years.
The colonial-era bridge collapsed into the Machchu river on Sunday, days after it reopened after repairs.
Search and rescue operations on the river resumed on Tuesday.
Nine people, including employees of a firm, contracted to maintain the bridge, have been arrested.
The 230m (754ft) bridge on the Machchu river was built during British rule in the 19th Century.
The bridge was a major local tourist attraction – touted by the state’s tourism website as an “artistic and technological marvel” – and reopened only last week after being shut for months for repairs.
Reports said that several hundred people were on the structure when it collapsed at around 18:40 India time (13:10 GMT) on Sunday.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos as people clung onto the wreckage, waiting for rescue teams to save them.
Some tried to swim to the banks of the river and managed to survive but many others were swept away by the fast-moving water.
The police on Monday said at least 141 people had been killed, but later revised that number to 135, without giving a reason for the updated toll.
Officials said that most of victims were women, children and elderly people.
On Monday, teams of disaster response workers and Indian military scoured the river in small boats, paddling through its muddy waters and the mangrove shrubs in search of the missing. Hundreds of locals too joined in the efforts, while distressed relatives searched for their loved ones.
Agencies