The 754-foot bridge over the Machchu river, that collapsed on October 30 in the Indian state of Gujarat, was built during British rule in the 19th century and it had only been reopened for four days after months of repairs when the tragic incident occurred.
Now video footage has emerged that shows pedestrians attempting to sway an the suspension bridge in the moments before it catastrophically collapsed, leaving at least 141 people dead as of Monday. The Indian Express newspaper on Monday quoted an Oreva spokesperson as saying: “While we are waiting for more information, prima facie, the bridge collapsed as too many people in the mid-section of the bridge were trying to sway it from one way to the other.”
Footage of the seconds leading up to the disaster appears to show people attempting to sway the crowded structure as others take photos. The cables on one side of the bridge then snap, plunging the crowd around 33 feet into the water below. Authorities have promised a full investigation into the cause of the accident.
Rescuers expect the death toll to continue to rise. The majority of those killed were women, children, or elderly people, a local official told the BBC. Almost 180 people were successfully rescued, however, in an overnight operation involving national and state disaster relief personnel and the Indian military. Rescuers on boats plucked victims from the dark waters around the bridge and ferried them to the river’s muddy banks, where volunteers and soldiers waited with stretchers to receive the living and the dead.
Separate footage showing the aftermath of the collapse shows people clinging onto the bridge’s netting, with others attempting to scale the twisted wreckage to escape the water. “People were hanging from the bridge after the accident, but they slipped and fell into the river when it collapsed,” an eyewitness giving only the name Raju told Reuters. “I could not sleep the entire night as I had helped in the rescue operation. I brought a lot of children to the hospital.”
The state’s home minister Harsh Sanghavi said several criminal cases had been registered in connection with the incident. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was born in what became Gujarat state where the bridge collapsed, on Monday said of the disaster: “Rarely in my life have I experienced such pain.” He added that the government would award financial compensation to the families of the dead and to injured survivors.
