Morbi bridge collapse toll rises to 134; rescue operation on

TIL Desk/National/Morbi/ The death toll in Morbi suspension bridge collapse rose to 134 on Monday, a senior Gujarat police official said, adding that the rescue operation was still underway. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi remained in Morbi during the night to oversee the rescue operation being conducted by multiple agencies.

The more than a century-old bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi, located around 300 km from the state capital Gandhinagar, had reopened five days ago after extensive repairs and renovation. It was crammed with people when it collapsed around 6.30 pm on Sunday. “The death toll in the bridge collapse incident has gone up to 134,” Rajkot Range Inspector General Ashok Yadav told.

The state information department said five teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), six platoons of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), a team of the Air Force, two columns of the Army, and two teams of the Indian Navy apart from local rescue teams were involved in the operation that continued through the night.