Authorities estimated that 500 people, including women and children, were on and around the bridge, engaged in religious rituals, when the cables supporting it gave way shortly after dark.
“Seventy-five people died,” a local official said by telephone. He said most of the victims had drowned.
Media spoke for their part of a balance sheet of at least 90 dead, unconfirmed at this stage. A previous official report put the death toll at 60.
Gujarat government official Brijesh Merja previously said more than 80 people had been rescued.
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. “People were falling on top of each other when the bridge broke. They had gathered there for rituals because of the Diwali festival. There are many women and children among the victims,” said an unidentified witness quoted by local media.
Gujarat State
Google maps screenshot
Divers and military
The 233-meter-long suspension bridge was built in 1880 with materials brought from England, according to local media. NDTV said it was reopened to the public on Wednesday after seven months of work without a security certificate being issued by authorities.
A rescue operation was launched, involving divers, boats and dozens of soldiers. 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.