At least 60 people died Sunday evening in India when a suspension bridge spanning a river collapsed in the western state of Gujarat, said a local government official.
“Sixty people died. More than 82 have been rescued,” the official, Brijesh Merja, told AFP.
The bridge over the Machchhu River, located in Morbi, about 200 kilometers west of Ahmedabad, Gujarat’s main city, dates back to British colonial times and had just reopened to the public after months of work.
Authorities estimated that 500 people, including women and children, were on and around the bridge when the cables supporting it gave way.
According to local officials quoted by media, people on the bridge were performing rituals as part of a religious festival.
More than 100 people were still wanted, according to local media which showed videos of people catching hold of debris from the structure of the bridge in the dark.
Divers
A rescue operation was launched, involving divers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Gujarat, where he is from, called for “the urgent mobilization of rescue teams”, and the provision of aid for all victims, his cabinet tweeted.
Accidents on old and poorly maintained infrastructure are common in India, especially on bridges.
In 2016, the rupture of a footbridge over a busy street in the city of Kolkata (east) caused the death of at least 26 people.
In 2011 at least 32 people died when a bridge collapsed on which were a crowd of participants of a festival in northeast India, about 30 kilometers from the city of Darjeeling.
Less than a week later, about 30 people were killed in the rupture of a footbridge crossing a river in the state of Aruchnal Pradesh (northeast).
In 2006, at least 34 people were killed when a 150-year-old bridge collapsed on a passenger train at a station in Bihar state (east).