Morbi bridge collapse: Gujarat witnesses describe scene of tragedy

A young man told the BBC he has been searching for his sister since Sunday

A bridge in the western Indian state of Gujarat collapsed on Sunday evening, killing at least 141 people. Officials say that women, children and elderly people lost their lives in the incident.

People who were at the scene of the tragedy described their experience to the BBC.

'I survived but my sister is still missing'

A young man who was standing on the bridge with his six-year-old sister when it collapsed was inconsolable when he told BBC Gujarati that he was unable to find her.

"We were standing on the bridge. There were hundreds of people.

"I climbed this bridge for the first time. My sister and I were taking photos on our mobile and suddenly, the bridge collapsed.

"My sister and I fell in the water. I survived but my sister is still missing."

He added, weeping, that he had been looking for her since Sunday evening.

"I went to the government hospital, searched everywhere, but my sister is nowhere to be found."

Jayeshbhai says his friend's family is still clinging on to hope

'I can't get a proper answer'

Jayeshbhai, whose friend Rajesh is still missing, told BBC Gujarati that he had been searching for him till early Monday morning.

"I've looked for him in the hospitals, and I've asked officials for help, but the only response I've gotten is "efforts are on". I've not been able to get a proper answer [about what is being done to find Rajesh] from anyone."

"His family is upset, but they are clinging on to the hope that nothing has happened to Rajesh," Jayeshbhai, adding that there should have been adequate checks done on the bridge before it reopened after repairs.

Rameshbhai Jilaria says he helped pull out bodies from the water

'50-60 people were hanging from the broken bridge'

Rameshbhai Jilaria, a local who rushed to the spot after the tragedy occurred, told BBC Gujarati he helped pull bodies out of the water.

"When we heard the news, we immediately took a rope and rushed to the spot. When I reached there, 50 to 60 people were hanging on to the broken suspension bridge," he says.

Mr Jilaria says he and others pulled out around 15 bodies from the river with the help of the rope.

"Three of the bodies were of young children."

A local says he heard a 'loud sound' when the bridge broke

'There was a loud sound of the bridge breaking'

"My friends and I were sitting [near the bridge] after work," Subhashbhai, a witness to the tragedy, told BBC Gujarati.

"There was a loud sound of the bridge breaking. We rushed to the spot and started rescuing people.

"Some people were swimming but others were drowning.

"We started pulling out the small children first. Then with the help of a pipe, we tried to rescue the adults.

"We pulled eight-nine people out of the water and recovered two bodies," he says.

Reporting by Tejas Vaidya, Roxy Gagdekar Chhara and Rajesh Ambalia for BBC Gujarati

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