Death toll of Gujarat bridge collapse in India rises to 141
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Officials say that more than 177 people have been rescued so far, but hundreds more remain missing.
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Rescue efforts at the Gujarat Bridge (AFP)
After a suspension bridge on Sunday collapsed in India's state of Gujarat, a local official confirmed that the majority of casualties were women, children, and elderly people. The bridge had just been reopened a week ago after repairs.
As people celebrated the annual Diwali festival, overcrowding on the bridge over the Machchu river caused it to collapse around 18:40 India time (13:10 GMT) on Sunday. Sukram, an eyewitness, told Reuters, "Many children were enjoying holidays for Diwali and they came here as tourists," adding, "All of them fell one on top of another. The bridge collapsed due to overloading."
With the death toll anticipated to rise further, search efforts are still underway as police, military, and disaster response teams continue to be deployed. Officials revealed that more than 177 people have been rescued.
Reportedly, more than 500 people, including children, were on the bridge at the time of its collapse, which led to more than 350 of them falling into the river the bridge is extended over.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose home state is Gujarat, announced compensation for the families of victims, expressing that he was "deeply saddened by the tragedy."
It is being investigated whether safety checks were done before the bridge was reopened. It is important to note that the structure is a popular tourist attraction known locally as Julto Pul (swinging bridge).
Several children fell into the river, a witness said, adding, "I wanted to pull some of them along with me but they had drowned or got swept away."
