(Photo : Photo credit should read EMMANUEL YOGINI/AFP via Getty Images)
As they looked into the collapse of a recently repaired 143-year-old suspension bridge in one of the deadliest tragedies to hit the nation in years, police in India made nine arrests on Monday.
At least 134 people, including several children, were killed when a pedestrian bridge collapsed in India. Police on Monday detained nine people, including ticketing clerks and contractors, as part of their investigation.
On Sunday evening, a colonial-era bridge over the Machchhu River gave way under the weight of holiday revelers, sending hundreds of people plummeting approximately 10 meters (33 feet) into the river below.
India Bridge Collapse Victims Still Under Medical Treatment
The CCTV footage right before the India bridge collapse showed young men taking selfies and rocking the suspension bridge in Morbi before they fell into the river below, per Indian Express.
Visitors can be seen in the video standing on the swinging bridge. To maintain their balance, a couple was even seen clasping onto the bridge's cables. In a matter of seconds, it collapsed, plunging its victims into the Machchhu River.
#Watch the CCTV footage of the bridge collapse in Gujarat's Morbi. Over 200 people have been rescued from the site of the incident, MoS Harsh Sanghvi said Monday. #MorbiBridgeCollapse
— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) October 31, 2022
Follow live updates: https://t.co/yxhdG5Hw3P pic.twitter.com/d1cKoTSDQw
Ashwin Mehra, who was receiving medical attention for leg and back injuries, claimed that he and six other people reached the land by clinging to the metal rails and netting of the bridge, according to Reuters. Mehra said that around 15-20 males aged between 20-25 years were rocking the bridge. Mehra said he heard noises three times, and then the bridge cable snapped on "the sixth time. "
Nine individuals were arrested for failing to control crowds before the India bridge collapse, according to a senior police official. Two of those detained were awarded a contract to fix the structure, which was built in 1877, according to Indian legislator Ashok Kumar Yadav.
The Indian Express reports that 84 of the 93 injured are confined in the government hospital in Morbi and 9 are in private hospitals. The state authorities also confirmed that two people have gone missing.
Known as the jhoolta pool bridge over the Machchhu river was closed for repairs for seven months. It reopened on October 26 (Gujarati New Year's Day) for visitors and the public without a fitness certificate from the Morbi municipality, per NDTV.
The district collectorate website states the bridge was assembled utilizing the latest European technology to give Morbi a "unique identity." The Machchhu River bridge linking Darbargadh Palace and Lakhdhirji Engineering College was 233 meters long and 1.25 meters broad.
Indian PM Modi to Visit Gujarat
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his profound sorrow at the India bridge collapse tragedy, regarded as one of the worst accidents in India in the last 10 years. Fox News reports that his office issued a statement promising financial aid to the victims' families and pleading for a rapid response to the search and rescue mission.
Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to visit the area of the accident on Tuesday, a lawmaker announced. The Indian government has reportedly assembled a task force to look into the tragedy.
According to Fox News, three significant disasters involving large crowds occurred in Asia in October, and the India bridge collapse is the most recent. On Saturday, more than 150 people, mostly young people, were killed in a stampede on Halloween in Itaewon, a district of Seoul, South Korea,
On October 1, Indonesian police opened fire with tear gas to curb a riot at a soccer event, which caused a stampede that led to the deaths of 132 spectators trying to leave the stadium.
Related Article: Itaewon Halloween Stampede: South Korea Vows Thorough Investigation Into Tragic Crowd Crush That Killed Over 150 People, Injured Hundreds
