Death toll rises to at least 130 in India bridge collapse

At least 130 people died in the western Indian state of Gujrat after a colonial-era pedestrian bridge collapsed. Police reported.

As per details, the bridge was packed with sightseers as nearly 500 people including women and children were celebrating religious festival on and around the nearly 150-year-old suspension bridge in Morbi in western India when cables supporting it snapped soon after dark on Sunday.

TV footage showed dozens of people clinging onto the cables and twisted remains of the collapsed bridge as emergency teams struggled to rescue them. Some clambered up them to try to make their way to the riverbanks, while others swam to safety.

“The death toll now stands at 130,” Morbi superintendent of police Rahul Tripathi told AFP, adding that around 15 other people were being treated in hospital.

The bridge over the Machchhu river around 200 kilometres (120 miles) west of Gujarat’s main city, Ahmedabad, had only reopened several days earlier after months of repairs.

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“People fell on top of each other after it collapsed,” one witness told local media. “People had flocked to the bridge for rituals and because of the Diwali festival. Many children and women were among the victims.”