People were purposefully rocking a British-era bridge before it fell in Morbi, Gujarat, on Sunday night. After the bridge fell into the river, at least 130 people perished in Gujarat.
CCTV footage captures a man swaying erratically and grabbing the cables on both sides just before the bridge fell at approximately 6.32 p.m.
The video depicts how crowded the bridge is with people, some taking pictures with their phones while others attempt to shake the structure. People are thrown into the Macchu River when the metal cables snap and the bridge collapses in a matter of seconds. One fence and the walkway both fell down, leaving one side hanging in the air.
How many casualties were found?
The bulk of those killed after the bridge collapsed on Sunday night were women, children, or the elderly, according to the authorities, who counted 141 fatalities.
The structure in Morbi town, which is 140 years old, reopened after repairs a week ago. The bridge, a well-liked tourist attraction in the area, was reportedly crowded when it collapsed, according to officials.
A police officer told BBC Gujarati that eight people are being questioned by the police in connection with the incident. Dealers in tickets as well as security personnel were questioned.
Whether the people being questioned are also employed by Oreva Group, the organisation in charge of maintaining the bridge, was not made clear by the spokesman.
A CCTV footage surfaced showing the disaster
The moment the disaster hit was caught on camera by a security camera in Morbi, where a century-old cable suspension bridge collapsed on Sunday evening, killing 133 people.
A group of tourists can be seen standing on the bridge in the footage as it swings. A few people were even seen balancing themselves by grabbing onto the suspension bridge’s wires. It fell apart quickly, and many plummeted into the Machchhu River.
According to sources who spoke to The Indian Express, there were up to 93 injuries, of which 84 are being treated at the Morbi government hospital and nine are at a private facility. The state authorities stated that there were two additional reports of missing persons.
Cause of the collapse
The bridge is a popular destination for travelers. Approximately 600 tickets allegedly sold for Rs 17 each, according to News 18. This implied that “too many people” were on the bridge, which may have caused it to collapse. According to News 18, “no crowd-control measures were taken.”
According to a spokeswoman for the Oreva organization, too many individuals in the middle of the bridge were trying to sway it from one direction to the other when the bridge collapsed.
Meanwhile, according to the municipal chief officer, prior to this most recent refurbishment, only 25 people could cross the bridge at a time. The bridge’s capacity was expected to rise. However, the contractor omitted to state how much the capacity will be raised.
As they look into the collapse of a footbridge that killed at least 141 people, many of them children, Indian police detained nine persons on Monday, including contractors and ticketing clerks.
CCTV footage captured a group of young guys taking pictures as others attempted to upset the suspension bridge in Morbi before they fell into the river below as the cables broke away, as seen just before the bridge collapsed.
PM Narendra Modi addresses the disaster
Numerous people could be seen clinging to the debris as rescue workers tried to free them through social media videos. Some of the survivors managed to scale the bridge’s damaged netting, while others were able to swim to the river’s banks.
The recompense for the relatives of victims has been announced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is from the state of Gujarat. He expressed how “truly pained” he was by the event.