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'Youths shook overcrowded bridge intentionally...': Survivors recall moments before Morbi bridge collapse

Amedabad resident Vijay Goswami and his family members visited the suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Gujarat’s Morbi on Sunday afternoon. Recounting his horror, Goswami said when some youths started shaking the bridge intentionally, it became difficult for people to walk.

Youths shook overcrowded bridge intentionally Survivors recall moments before Morbi bridge collapse gcw
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First Published Oct 31, 2022, 11:58 AM IST

The Morbi cable bridge collapse became one of the most tragic accidents in the history of Gujarat, with the death toll exceeding 130 on Monday morning. The rescue operations are still being carried out in the district to help people who are stuck in the river.

Vijay Goswami and his family, who were in Morbi for their Diwali vacations and were visiting the bridge as hundreds thronged the region to conduct Chhath puja rites, came extremely near to death when the bridge collapsed in Gujarat. On the day of the collapse, the Goswami family was on the Morbi cable bridge, but they left after a while because some individuals had started purposefully shaking and swinging the bridge for fun, according to PTI.

Also Read | Morbi bridge collapse: Rajkot BJP MP loses 12 family members

Their worries were true a little while later, at 6.30 p.m., when that tourist attraction on the Machchhu river collapsed, killing at least 130 people as of Monday morning. Over 500 people were on the Morbi cable bridge when it fell on Sunday night.

Goswami claimed that as he and his family were on the bridge, some youngsters began purposefully shaking it, making it hard for others to walk. He claimed that because he believed this action would be risky, he and his family turned around and left the bridge. He said he even alerted the bridge staff about it, but they were indifferent.

Goswami stated to reporters, "There was a large crowd on the bridge. My family and I were on the bridge when several young people began purposefully rocking it. Without a support, it was hard for humans to stand.

Also Read | Morbi suspension bridge collapse: No fitness certificate issued before reopening it

He said, before leaving the bridge, he warned the on-duty workers to stop individuals from shaking the bridge. However, they were only interested in selling tickets and told us that there is no system to control the crowd, he added.

Meanwhile, a survivor of the bridge collapse spoke to the reporters  and said that people were hanging by the roped to save their lives. Additionally, he claimed that crowding was to blame for the cable bridge's collapse.

(Photo: PTI)

Also Read | Morbi suspension bridge collapse death toll mounts to 132

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