Rescue workers conduct search operations on November 1, 2022, days after a bridge across the river Machchhu collapsed on October 30, 2022 at Morbi in Indias Gujarat state. (Photo by SAM PANTHAKY/AFP via Getty Images)
The death toll from an Indian foot bridge collapse rose to 135 on Tuesday (1), while the army, navy and national disaster response teams kept up search operations for a third day.
HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
135 people have died and one person is missing at present. 152 people have been discharged from the hospital and 17 were still undergoing treatment, the government said.
Authorities said they believe that around 200 people were on the colonial-era bridge – 233 metres in length and 1.25 metres wide – when it collapsed.
Police arrested nine people on Monday (31) on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Those arrested included ticketing clerks accused of letting too many people onto the bridge and contractors that had been in charge of repair work.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party was attacked by opposition parties for what they called an unseemingly fresh paint job for the hospital ahead of the prime minister’s visit.
Local authorities said the Oreva group, maker of Ajanta clocks and electrical products, was this year awarded a contract to maintain and manage the bridge for 15 years. It was reopened last week after months of renovation.
Sandeepsinh Zala, chief officer of Morbi municipality, said Oreva did not inform authorities about reopening the bridge and had not been issued a fitness certificate to do so.
CCTV footage from just before the collapse showed a group of young men taking photos while others tried to rock the bridge from side to side, before they tumbled into the river below as the cables gave way.
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