Morbi bridge collapse: ‘Some youths shook suspension bridge; staff were indifferent when alerted,’ claims visitor
An Ahmedabad resident and his family narrowly avoided an accident when they visited the suspension bridge in Gujarat’s Morbi city on Sunday afternoon. After some youths started shaking the bridge, Vijay Goswami and his family members turned back halfway through.
It wasn’t long before their fears were realised when that 100-year-old suspension bridge over the Machchhu river, a tourist attraction, collapsed at around 6.30 pm, killing at least 78 people.
According to Goswami, some youths deliberately shook the bridge when he and his family were on it, making it difficult for people to walk on it.
Due to his concerns that this act could prove dangerous, he and his family returned without continuing on the bridge. He claimed to have reported the issue to the bridge staff, but they appeared ‘uninterested’.
The British-era bridge reopened just four days ago for the public after being closed for seven months for renovation.
Goswami said he had gone to Morbi, nearly 300 km from the state capital, with his family to enjoy the Diwali holiday.
“There was a huge crowd on the bridge. My family and I were on the bridge when some youths started shaking it intentionally. It was impossible for people to stand without holding any support. Since I had a feeling that it may prove dangerous, my family and I came back after covering some distance on the bridge,” Goswami told the media after reaching Ahmedabad.
He claimed: “Before leaving the spot, I alerted the on-duty staff to stop people from shaking the bridge. However, they were only interested in selling tickets and told us that there is no system to control the crowd. Hours after we left, our fears turned true as the bridge eventually collapsed.”
A video that went viral on social media shows some youngsters shaking the bridge ropes to scare other tourists.
There were several children at the site who told reporters that their family members or parents went missing after the bridge collapsed.
“There was a huge crowd when the bridge suddenly collapsed. I survived because I caught hold of a hanging rope and slowly climbed up. But my father and mother are still missing,” a 10-year-old boy told the media.
According to Mehul Raval, one of the survivors, nearly 300 people were on the bridge at the time of its collapse.
“The bridge suddenly caved in when we were on it. All the people fell down. Many people have died while many have received injuries. The bridge collapsed mainly because it was overcrowded,” Raval, who is in Morbi civil hospital, told reporters.
Meanwhile, a local resident said, “There were nearly 300 people on the bridge, which was opened a few days back for the public. A majority of the victims were children, as they came here to enjoy their Diwali vacation. Locals rushed to the spot immediately after the mishap, and pulled out many people alive.”
Following the collapse of the bridge, many people living in different parts of Morbi rushed to assist the victims.
According to another resident, “All the residents living nearby came for the rescue and saved many. This is the first major incident for Morbi after the dam breach incident of 1979. This bridge collapsed due to overcrowding. Rescue was hampered because of low light in the evening.”
The local rescue teams were also joined by Kanti Amrutiya, the former BJP MLA from Morbi.
“I pulled out many people alive, but many others were already dead when they were pulled out. Everyone is doing their bit to help people,” he said.
