Morbi Police arrests 9 people in connection with Sunday bridge collapse incident
Team News Riveting
Morbi, October 31
The death toll in the Morbi suspension bridge collapse on Monday rose to 134 even as elders recall an incident on the same river claiming over 1500 people.
The more-than-a-century-old bridge built during the Britishers period on the Machchhu river in Morbi, located around 300 km from the state capital Gandhinagar, collapsed around 6.30 pm on Sunday. The bridge, which was crammed with people, was reopened five days ago after extensive repairs and renovation.
According to reports, over 500 people were on the bridge at the time of the incident. Apart from locals, people from nearby cities and villages had also come to the bridge on a holiday when it collapsed. Due to the Diwali vacation and being a Sunday, there was a rush of tourists on the bridge, a major tourist attraction.
In the incident, 134 people lost their lives. The victims include many children. The toll is likely to increase as rescue and search operations are going on. “The only challenge in the operation is muddy water that causes visibility issues when our divers go underwater,” VVN Prasanna Kumar, NDRF Commandant, said.
Around 200 people were rescued during a massive rescue operation launched by the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, NDRF, Fire Brigade and state agencies. As many as 93 were injured of whom 84 are being treated at the government hospital in Morbi while nine have been admitted to a private hospital.
The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is going to visit the site on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Morbi Police have arrested 9 people in connection with the incident. Earlier, an FIR was lodged under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (intentional act causing death) and 114 (abettor present when offence committed), against whoever is found responsible, Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi said.
The incident reminded of a similar tragedy that struck in the area some 43 years ago. On August 11, 1979, a dam on the Machhu river collapsed killing at least 1,500 people and more than 13000 animals.
Due to incessant rains, local rivers were flooded and the Machhu Dam was overflowing. The dam collapsed at 3.15 pm and within 15 minutes, the entire city was flooded with dam water
The first dam on the Machchhu river, named Machchhu I, was built in 1959, having a catchment area of 730 square km. The Machchhu II dam was constructed downstream of Machchhu I in 1972, and has a catchment area of 1,929 km.
