Old Cable Of Gujarat Bridge Snapped Due To Rush, Say Forensics Sources

New Delhi:

The cable bridge over the River Machhu in Gujarat’s Morbi snapped due to a heavy rush of people, sources in India’s top forensic laboratory have said. The colonial-era bridge, shut for renovation for seven months, collapsed yesterday, killing 141.

Forensics officers used gas cutters to collect samples of the structure, sources said. They found that the huge rush of people overloaded and weakened the structural integrity of the just-renovated cable bridge, sources said.

Different old videos on social media, reportedly taken before the renovation, show dozens of people jumping and running on the bridge, in what appears to be a deliberate attempt to sway the structure for fun.

Oreva group, a Gujarat-based clockmaker, carried out the repairs on the century-old bridge. It reopened the bridge on October 26, the Gujarati New Year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in Gujarat, where assembly elections are due by the year-end, today said he will “leave no stone unturned” to provide relief to the survivors and families of those who died in the tragedy.