Summary

  • Dozens have died after a pedestrian suspension bridge collapsed in India’s Gujarat state on Sunday

  • The bridge had been reopened just days earlier after repairs

  • Reports say hundreds of people were on the bridge to perform rituals for a religious festival

  • At least 177 people have been rescued so far and search operations are under way for others who are missing

  • The Gujarat government has ordered an investigation into the incident

Live Reporting

Edited by Vikas Pandey

  1. Officials say rescue operation challenging

    Tejas Vaidya
    BBC Gujarati, Morbi

    Rescue efforts underwayGetty Images

    More than 15 hours after the Morbi bridge collapsed in Gujarat state, the hunt for survivors is still on in what authorities describe as a challenging rescue operation.

    At least 177 people have been rescued so far, according to officials, who added that it was difficult to run the operation in the night due to poor visibility.

    About 200 locals living in nearby areas have joined in relief efforts this morning.

    Videos from the site show disaster response personnel travelling by small boats on the river.

    One of the officials told BBC Gujarati that rescuers were struggling to wade through the muddy waters of the river.

    In addition to the national disaster response force, teams from the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force and the Coast Guard are also helping with the operation.

  2. Morbi bridge was known as an 'engineering marvel'

    A part of the collapsed bridgeGetty Images

    The Gujarat government website says the bridge was built to give a “unique identity to Morbi"

    A Gujarat government website describes the suspension bridge at Morbi as an “engineering marvel…[which] reflects the progressive and scientific nature of the rulers” of the area.

    The 1.25m wide bridge on the Machchu river connecting a palace and a local engineering college was built to give an “unique identity to Morbi using the latest technology available in those days”, the website says.

    Morbi is a thriving hub of ceramic and clock industries – there are about 390 ceramic and 150 wall clock makers in the area, according to the government.

    However, this is not the first time disaster has struck Morbi. In 1979, a dam burst in the area, and the region was also affected by the 2000 earthquake in Gujarat, in which some 20,000 people died.

  3. Rescue efforts continue to find survivors

    Rescue operations, which began on Sunday night, are still underway in Gujarat's Morbi.

    Teams from the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force, the Navy and the Coast Guard have been deployed to assist in search and rescue operations .

    Rescue boats seen at the site of the bridge collapseGetty Images

    Rescue personnel conduct search operations after the bridge's collapse

    Search boats seen in the Machcchu riverGetty Images

    Officials said the bridge was overcrowded when it collapsed

    Search boats seen in the Machchhu riverGetty Images

    Teams from the Indian Army, Air Force and the Navy are assisting in relief efforts

    Search boats seen in the Machchhu river

    Dozens of people injured in the bridge collapse are being treated at nearby hospitals

    Villagers seen at the banks of the Machchhu riverGetty Images

    Villagers gathered at the banks of the Machchhu river as rescue operations continued

  4. Bridge collapse tragedy painful: PM Modi

    PM ModiANI

    Prime Minister Narendar Modi says he is "pained" by the bridge collapse tragedy

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the tragedy was painful. He added that his thoughts were with the families of the victims.

    "Rarely in my life, would I have experienced such pain. On one hand, there is a pain-riddled heart and on the other hand, there is the path to duty," he said.

    Expressing his condolences, he pledged the government's full support to families of those who died in the accident.

    "All alertness is being observed even in the hospital where the injured are under treatment," he said.

  5. What happened?

    Gujarat bridge collapseReuters

    Reports said several hundred people were on the bridge at the time of the collapse on Sunday.

    A major tourist attraction, the century-old narrow cable bridge, built over the Machchu river, draws tourists in big numbers.

    The bridge was particularly busy this weekend as the Hindu festival season of Diwali and Chhath Puja drew a large number of visitors to the tourist spot, which was reopened to the public only last week.

    Reports say hundreds of families were on the bridge when it collapsed.

    Victims mostly include children, women and elderly people.

    Videos on social media showed dozens clinging onto the floating wreckage as emergency teams attempted to rescue them. Many children and women, who were stuck, could be heard crying for help.

    Some managed to swim to the river banks.

    At least 141 died and several dozens have been injured.

  6. Collapsed bridge opened 'without fitness certificate'

    The collapsed bridge seen over Machchhu river

    The suspension bridge over the Machchhu river was more than a century old.

    "In March this year, it was closed to the public for renovation," Sandeep Jhala, the chief of the local Morbi municipality, told reporters.

    Mr Jhala says the bridge was reopened to the public after repairs only on 26 October.

    "But the local municipality had not yet issued a fitness certificate (after the renovation work)," he says.

    Mr Jhala told local media that the municipality didn't know yet "how the bridge collapsed, what was its capacity, whether they had taken any fitness certificate or not, what kind of material was used in it".

  7. India bridge collapse - latest updates

    Gujarat bridge collapse

    At least 141 people have died after a bridge collapsed on Sunday in the western Indian state of Gujarat. Here's what we know so far:

    • Hundreds of people were standing on the pedestrian suspension bridge when it collapsed into the Machchu river.
    • The victims mostly included children, women and elderly, officials have said.
    • Rescue operations are still underway.
    • The Gujarat government has opened an investigation into the tragedy.