In one of the worst accidents in India in the past decade, at least 141 people were killed and others critically injured when a newly-renovated suspension bridge in the western Gujarat state collapsed on Sunday, officials said. More than 170 survivors were pulled from the river, and teams from the army, navy and air force were searching for others still missing, said Jigar Khunt, an information department official in Gujarat. The bridge gave way as it could not handle the number of people on it, officials told PTI. Only last week, the bridge had been reopened to the public following months of renovation work, reports say. Hundreds of people were said to be on the bridge over the Macchu River in the town of Morbi at the time of the collapse. Local TV channel Zee News put the number at 400. Footage broadcast by the TV channel showed dozens of people clinging onto the cables of the collapsed bridge as emergency teams struggled to rescue them. State Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi said more than 150 people were on the narrow cable-stayed bridge, a tourist attraction that drew many sightseers during the festive season when Diwali and Chhath Puja are celebrated. The 230-meter colonial-era bridge was built in the 19th century. It had been closed for six months before being reopened for the public last week following its renovation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in his home state Gujarat for a three-day visit, said he was "deeply saddened by the tragedy". Modi said he was "pained" by the incident and has announced that he would visit Morbi on Tuesday. "Rarely in my life, would I have experienced such pain. On one hand, there is a pain-riddled heart and on the other hand, there is the path to duty," he tweeted. Expressing his condolences, he pledged the government's full support to families of those who died in the accident. His office announced compensation to the families of the dead and urged for speedy rescue efforts. Municipality officials have said that the bridge may have been reopened without a "fitness certificate". The Gujarat government has launched an investigation and is questioning eight people in connection with the collapse, which comes weeks ahead of key state elections. Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos at the site, while crematoriums were running full on Monday. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is among several political leaders who have expressed sympathy after the tragic bridge collapse in Morbi. Gandhi asked party workers to help victims as he extended his condolences to the bereaved families. Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal canceled a road show in Haryana state ahead of by-polls in the area this week. The chief ministers of Haryana, Punjab, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have also sent condolences to the victims of the bridge tragedy. While offering help to the victims, Congress Party chief Mallikarjun Kharge called for an inquiry into the accident. He suggested it should be "headed by a retired Supreme or High Court judge" to examine how the bridge collapsed "five to six days [after its] inauguration" and establish "who allowed so many people there". A lawmaker from Gujarat state Mohanbhai Kundariya from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party lost 12 family members in one evening after the bridge snapped and collapsed. Kundariya's sister and 11 others — including five children — were among the victims. "This is very saddening," the BJP leader told news agency ANI after he reached the site of the accident on Monday. Questions are also being asked as to why was the maintenance of the 140-year-old suspension bridge, which collapsed in Morbi given to a clock and lights maker? According to reports, the Morbi-based Oreva group was awarded the contract to maintain the bridge by the local municipality. But questions have been raised over why a company which once described itself as "world's largest clock manufacturing company" — before it also began making lighting products, battery operated bikes, home appliances and TV sets — was given responsibility for maintaining a bridge. Oreva also collected toll for traveling on the bridge — 17 rupees (21 cents; 18 pence) from adults and 12 rupees from children. NDTV quoted a top company official, Deepak Parekh, telling the media earlier in October that the renovation work had cost the company "just" 20 million rupees. "If people act responsibly without damaging the property, this renovation can sustain for the next 15 years," he was quoted as saying. Local officials have been quoted as saying that the bridge was opened to the public after renovation was completed, but the municipality had not issued the mandatory "fitness certificate". Disaster response teams on inflatable orange rafts and military teams on green camouflage rafts are still scouring Macchu River. Its been about 20 hours since the incident happened so it is unlikely that they will find any more survivors at this point but we have been told by an onlooker here that about an hour ago, one body was pulled out. Rescuers who were in the vicinity of the collapsed Indian bridge used makeshift ropes made of torn clothing to pull out more than 100 people from the river, a witness has said. Kantilal Amrutiya, a former legislator from the Bharatiya Janata Party, told BBC News that he saw the bridge falling and managed to film and send out a video to local people to ask for help. He explained that those near the bridge called the authorities immediately after it collapsed, but then entered the water themselves to save those at risk of drowning. The Gujarat government has announced an investigation into the reasons for the bridge collapse. While official updates are still awaited, Indian engineers believe that the suspension bridge — a bridge in which the deck is hung below cables on vertical suspenders — in Morbi may have collapsed due to poor maintenance. "This is a 140-year-old bridge. You have to do regular, high-quality maintenance. The bearings, joints and rivets of the bridge have to be checked regularly. In India, we are not very rigorous about maintenance," saids Achyut Ghosh, a professor of structural engineering and a bridge expert. Rahul Raj, a Delhi-based architect, says the quality of maintenance of infrastructure in India is "often compromised because the job goes to a firm which charges the lowest fees". "Jobs have reduced, firms are reducing fees, and quality of work is suffering," Raj said. The bridge collapse is Asia's third major disaster involving large crowds in a month. On Saturday, a Halloween crowd surge killed more than 150 mostly young people who attended festivities in Itaewon, a neighborhood in the South Korean capital Seoul. On Oct. 1, police in Indonesia fired tear gas at a football match, causing a crush that killed 132 people as spectators tried to flee. — Agencies
