Morbi bridge collapse: How India tourist spot became a bridge of death - bbc.com

Questions are being asked successful India aft a fashionable ft span collapsed, plunging scores of pedestrians into a stream successful the occidental authorities of Gujarat.

The fearfulness successful the municipality of Morbi connected Sunday evening is 1 of the worst tragedies successful India for years, sidesplitting 135 people, astir of them women, children and the elderly.

The 137-year-old suspension span had reopened conscionable 5 days earlier pursuing repairs - truthful what went wrong?

The BBC spoke to survivors, archetypal responders, section journalists and officials to portion unneurotic a communicative of needless tragedy.

Local residents and journalists blasted the institution which operated the span - and the constabulary and section authorities are besides accused of failures.

Just aft 18:30 (13:00 GMT) connected Sunday, Mahesh Chavda and 2 of his friends bought their tickets and stepped onto Morbi's swaying 'jhulto pul' (hanging bridge).

It's described by the state's tourism website arsenic a "technological marvel" and is fashionable with sightseers - it had been Mahesh's favourite go-to spot ever since he'd been a child.

Spanning the Machchu river, the 230m (754ft)-long operation connects Darbargarh Palace and Lakhdhirji Engineering College. Dates for its operation vary, but locals accidental it was built successful the 1880s by the section Maharaja, Waghji Thakore.

"I utilized to sojourn it with my parents and, for the past fewer years, I'd spell determination each Sunday with my friends," says Mahesh.

He was "excited" erstwhile helium heard past week that the span had reopened and the 18-year-old and his friends decided to resume their Sunday evening routine.

Sitting connected his infirmary furniture with plaster astir his neck, Mahesh told maine that arsenic they approached the bridge, they could spot that it was overcrowded.

"So we thought we'd hold a spot but the summons checker said we had to determination on. The span collapsed the infinitesimal we stepped connected it," helium said.

The portion wherever Mahesh and his friends were lasting flipped implicit and they were thrown into the stream 15m (45ft) below.

The 3 teenagers were injured but survived.

But scores of others didn't and the catastrophe has destroyed galore families who had aggregate members killed portion retired for an evening stroll implicit the river.

Many radical are present asking however a calamity of this standard could hap and wherefore was it not prevented?

The span was thrown unfastened to the nationalist past Wednesday, to coincide with the Gujarati caller year.

A time earlier, Jaysukh Bhai Patel, the proprietor of Oreva group, the steadfast contracted to support and run the span since 2008, told a property league the renovation enactment had outgo 20 cardinal rupees ($242,000; £211,200).

"Nothing volition hap to the span for the adjacent 8-10 years. And if it's utilized responsibly, the span volition request nary repairs for 15 years," the Times of India quoted him arsenic saying.

Since Sunday's accident, constabulary person arrested 9 radical associated with Oreva - including 2 managers and 2 summons clerks connected its payroll, arsenic good arsenic 2 contractors and 3 information guards it had hired.

They are being investigated for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

At a property league connected Wednesday, nationalist authoritative HS Panchal said that the 2 contractors to whom fabrication enactment had been fixed by the institution were "unqualified" for the task.

"Despite this, these contractors were fixed repair enactment of the span successful 2007 and successful 2022," helium said, adding that they were further investigating the matter.

A forensic study presented by the investigating serviceman successful tribunal said the flooring of the span was replaced astatine the clip of renovation but its cables were not, and that the aged cables could not instrumentality the value of the changed flooring.

A constabulary serviceman besides told the tribunal that the cable was "rusted" - and that the calamity could person been avoided had they been repaired connected time.

The BBC has contacted Oreva to inquire for its effect to the allegations it faces.

In court, 1 of the accused - a institution manager - termed the span illness an "act of God", the authoritative said.

Oreva has besides been accused of different lapses, including failing to unafraid support from the authorities to run the bridge.

Local municipal main Sandipsinh Zala told reporters connected Monday that Oreva had not been fixed a information certificate earlier reopening it.

But galore are questioning wherefore a institution known for making clocks was allowed to support a bridge. It besides makes lighting products, battery-operated bikes and location appliances.

Mr Zala did not reply our calls oregon respond to our messages, but an adjunct successful his bureau told maine that Oreva had archetypal won a declaration to lease the span from the territory medication successful 2008.

"Mr Zala has conscionable renewed that declaration successful March," the adjunct added.

The BBC has seen a transcript of the statement which is valid for 15 years - until March 2037.

It says that the attraction and information is the work of the steadfast which besides keeps the proceeds from the summons sales.

According to the document, the steadfast is allowed to terms tickets astatine 15 rupees for adults and 12 rupees for children, but it was charging a premium of 2 rupees connected each ticket.

Authorities person promised a afloat enquiry and a peculiar probe squad has been acceptable up to look into the causes of the disaster.

By each accounts successful Morbi, what led to the illness was the sheer fig of radical who were allowed onto the span astatine the aforesaid time.

Most radical accidental astatine the astir determination should person been 100-150 radical connected the bridge, but galore eyewitnesses estimation that determination were upwards of 500 radical connected it.

Senior writer and long-time Morbi nonmigratory Pravin Vyas, who lives adjacent to the bridge, says helium had ne'er seen it truthful crowded before.

"Locals and tourists had turned up successful specified ample numbers since it was a Sunday and the past time of the week-long Diwali vacation. Many were besides blessed to beryllium retired celebrating aft 2 years of Covid-19 restrictions," helium said.

"It's the management's work to spot however galore radical tin beryllium safely allowed astatine immoderate infinitesimal connected the bridge. But it benefits them to let much radical due to the fact that introduction is ticketed," helium added.

Mr Vyas says the municipality medication and the constabulary are not without blasted either.

"There were thousands of radical visiting the span each time since it reopened, truthful the authorities can't accidental they didn't cognize astir it due to the fact that Oreva didn't question support from them."

Critics wonderment however an country that drew thousands of locals and tourists each time lacked information measures to woody with an emergency?

How travel determination were nary policemen nearby, nary divers and nary boats, they ask.

The territory medication insists that ensuring the information of visitors was the work of the company.

Additional District Magistrate NK Muchhar told maine helium was arrogant of however rapidly they had responded to the situation and the monolithic rescue cognition they had launched which had saved lives.

"We got divers, swimmers, ropes, boats and occurrence services present successful 10 minutes," helium said.

Many nevertheless constituent retired that the toll would person been overmuch higher if not for archetypal responders who included locals and a radical of adjacent labourers gathering a caller temple connected the stream banks.

Niranjan Das had conscionable finished his day's enactment astatine the temple tract and was sitting with his colleagues connected the broadside of the bridge, watching arsenic dusk enveloped the town.

"We saw radical clinging onto the bits of the bridge," helium says.

Ropes from the operation tract were utilized to little him and 7 of his colleagues into the water.

"We saved 8 radical and pulled retired dozens of bodies."

He points to injuries connected the hands and feet of a workfellow who besides participated successful the rescue.

Parbat Govind, a 61-year-old who moved to Morbi 2 years agone and supervises the workers, was astatine the temple too, and watched the calamity arsenic it unfolded.

"Those wounds volition heal," helium said. "But we volition ne'er hide what we witnessed that day. We volition ne'er beryllium capable to hide those screams."