Morbi bridge collapse: Eyewitnesses recount the horror when cables snapped 'just like that'

Morbi, Oct 31: About 132 people have died, while more than a 100 others have been admitted and are under treatment after nearly a centurey-old cable bridge collapsed in Gujarat's Morbi town on Sunday evening, plunging over 350 people into the river. According to Morbi legislator and the state government minister Brijesh Merja, the number is likely to go up significantly.

Eyewitnesses said there were several women and children on the British era "hanging bridge" when it snapped, plunging them into the river below. Some people were seen jumping on the bridge and pulling its big wires, an eyewitness said. The bridge may have collapsed due to the "huge crowd" on it, he added.

People fell over each other when the bridge collapsed, he said. "I had come to the riverbank along with friends after my office hours when we heard the sound of the bridge snapping. We rushed there and jumped into the water to save people," an eyewitness said. "We rescued some children and women," he said.

A man who was injured in the incident, said the collapse was sudden and may have been due to too many people on the bridge.

After the collapse, all that remained of the bridge was part of the metal carriageway hanging down from one end into the dark water, its thick cables snapped in places.

"I sell tea there every Sunday. People were hanging from cables & then slipped down. I didn't sleep & helped people entire night. It was heart-wrenching to see a 7-8-month-pregnant woman die. Never saw anything like that in my life," an eyewitness said.

Gujarat | "I sell tea there every Sunday. People were hanging from cables & then slipped down. I didn't sleep & helped people entire night. It was heart-wrenching to see a 7-8-month-pregnant woman die. Never saw anything like that in my life," says an eye-witness of #MorbiTragedy pic.twitter.com/sippTi2oaC

— ANI (@ANI) October 31, 2022

Another eyewitness Hasena told news agency ANI that,"I can't describe it in words. There were children as well. I helped people as members of my own family. I also gave my vehicle to carry bodies to the hospital. The admin also helped too. I never saw anything like this ever.''

For Ahmedabad resident Vijay Goswami and his family members, it was a close shave as they had visited the bridge on Sunday afternoon but returned halfway out of fear after some youth from the crowd started shaking it.

Goswami said when he and his family were on the bridge, some youth started shaking the bridge intentionally, making it difficult for people to walk. He said since he felt this act could prove dangerous, he and family returned without proceeding further on the bridge. He said he even alerted the bridge staff about it, but they were indifferent.

A few hours later, their fears proved right when that bridge on the Machchhu river, a tourist attraction, collapsed at around 6.30 pm.

"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," he said.

In a video that has gone viral on social media, some youngsters can be seen kicking the ropes of the bridge and shaking it to scare other tourists.

A local resident said, "There were nearly 300 people on the bridge, which was opened a few days back for the public. 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." A large number of people living in different parts of Morbi rushed to help those who fell into river after the bridge collapse.