Tuesday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the catastrophe scene, divers looked for additional bodies after a newly refurbished pedestrian bridge collapsed in western India, killing 134 people.
Concerns also developed regarding the potential cause of the disaster that occurred on Sunday in Morbi, in Modi’s native Gujarat.
On homicide-related accusations stemming from the 150-year-old building’s collapse, nine persons have been detained.
People had gathered in large numbers on the suspension bridge to celebrate the last day of the Diwali festivities. There were 47 children among the dead.
Terrible CCTV footage showed the flimsy building, a well-known tourist attraction, packed with people before suddenly collapsing as cables snapped.
While others helplessly clung to the mangled remains of the bridge, begging for rescue in the pitch black, several hundred plummeted into the river.
“I heard screams and a loud thud and then there was silence. Then slowly cries and screams,” survivor Madhvi Ben, 30, told AFP.
Ben said one of her legs was tangled in “a steel rope”, leaving her almost entirely submerged before she managed to break free and be rescued.
Morbi businessman Rafiq Gaffar, whose two nephews aged 12 and 21 died, described the scene as “mayhem”.
“People were crying and wailing. It was a scene from doomsday,” said Gaffar, 45.
“There were bodies floating on the water everywhere and people trapped on the bridge who were frantically calling for help.”
Tuesday, Xi Jinping, the president of China, joined other international leaders in expressing his “profound condolences.”
On Tuesday, there were no new reports of missing persons.
Modi observed as rescuers in inflatable boats circled the river in an effort to retrieve any objects from the bottom.
“We have not called off the search operation yet as there is always this apprehension there could be victims from outside whose kin are not aware of their whereabouts and haven’t contacted us yet,” said Rahul Tripathi from Morbi police.
The bridge renovations were reportedly carried out by local firm Oreva, whose experience was limited to clocks, e-bikes and other products.
The company could not be reached immediately for comment.
