Authorities said more than 400 people were in and around the colonial-era suspension bridge at the time of the collapse. State Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi said more than 150 people were on the bridge itself.
The bridge had attracted many tourists celebrating Diwali, or the festival of lights, and the Chhath Puja festivities.
“Many children were enjoying their Diwali holidays and came here as tourists. They all fell on top of each other. The bridge collapsed due to overloading,” said a witness, who gave his name as Sukram.
The bridge was built during British rule in the 19th century. It had been closed for renovation for six months and reopened to the public last week.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in his home state of Gujarat on a three-day visit, said he had directed the state’s chief minister to urgently mobilize teams for the rescue operation.
Volunteers and health workers carry a victim from the Machchu River. Credit: AP
Fifty navy and 30 air force personnel were called in to help along with a national disaster management team to locate the missing people, the government said in a statement. A five-member team was appointed to conduct an investigation into the disaster.
Opposition party leaders alleged that the government had not carried out a comprehensive technical and load-carrying capacity assessment before opening to the public.
Morbi is recognized as a center for the manufacture of ceramics.
The incident also comes ahead of Gujarat elections, which are expected to be held later this year and the current term of Modi’s ruling party ends in February 2023.
Here are the details of some of the worst accidents in India in the last decade:
April 2012: At least 103 people drowned after an overloaded ferry carrying about 300 people capsized overnight in the Brahmaputra River in eastern Assam state.
February 2013: A stampede at a railway station in northern India killed at least 36 Hindu pilgrims on the busiest day of the Kumbh Mela, the world’s largest religious festival attended by some 30 million.
April 2013: About 72 people died after an illegal and half-built building collapsed in western India’s Thane, near the financial capital Mumbai.
October 2013: Devotees crossing a long, concrete bridge to a temple in the central state of Madhya Pradesh panic when some railings break, triggering a stampede that kills 115 people.
July 2014: An 11-storey building under construction in the southern state of Tamil Nadu collapsed after heavy rains, killing at least 47.
September 2015: Illegally stored explosives that were accidentally detonated in the center of a town in the central state of Madhya Pradesh killed at least 88 people.
April 2016: A fire and explosions during a fireworks display killed 100 people and injured more than 380 at a temple in the southern state of Kerala.
Nov 2016: About 146 people were killed and over 200 injured when an express train derailed in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
January 2017: At least 41 people died after several coaches of a passenger train derailed in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
Nov 2017: A hot gas explosion in a boiler at a power plant in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh operated by state-owned NTPC Ltd killed 45 workers.
October 2018: A commuter train plowed into a crowd gathered on the tracks for a festival in the northern Indian city of Amritsar, killing at least 59 people and injuring 57.
June 2019: At least 44 people were killed and 35 injured when a bus plunged off a road in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh
December 2019: Forty-three people died in New Delhi when a fire engulfed a four-storey building in a residential area of the capital where more than 100 workers were sleeping.
February 2021: About 50 people were killed in central Madhya Pradesh state when a bus fell from a bridge into a canal and then plunged into water.
Reuters
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