‘Youths were shaking bridge intentionally’: Family narrowly escapes death, recounts Gujarat bridge collapse horror

The Morbi cable bridge collapse became one of the most tragic accidents in the history of Gujarat, with the death toll exceeding 100 on Monday morning, as rescue operations are still being carried out in the district to help people who are stuck in the river.

The bridge collapse in Gujarat became a close shave with death for Vijay Goswami and his family, who were in Morbi to celebrate their Diwali vacations and were visiting the bridge as hundreds thronged the area to perform Chhath puja rituals.

The Goswami family had been on the Morbi cable bridge on the day of the collapse, but had returned halfway after some people had intentionally started shaking and swinging the bridge for their amusement, according to PTI.

A few hours later, their fears proved right when that bridge on the Machchhu river, a tourist attraction, collapsed around 6.30 pm, killing over 120 people as of Monday morning. The Morbi cable bridge had over 500 people on it when it collapsed on Sunday evening.

Goswami said when he and his family were on the bridge, some youths started shaking the bridge intentionally, making it difficult for people to walk. He said since he felt this act could prove dangerous, he and his family returned without proceeding further on the bridge. He said he even alerted the bridge staff about it, but they were indifferent.

While speaking to reporters, Goswami said, “There was a huge crowd on the bridge. My family and I were on the bridge when some youths started shaking it intentionally. It was impossible for people to stand without holding any support.”

“Before leaving the spot, I alerted the on-duty staff to stop people 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 further added, as per PTI reports.

Meanwhile, a survivor of the bridge collapse spoke to the reporters about the horrors of the accident and said that people were hanging by the roped to save their lives. He also said that the reason for the collapse of the cable bridge was overcrowding.

“The bridge suddenly caved in when we were on it. All the people fell down. Many people have died while many have received injuries. The bridge collapsed mainly because it was overcrowded,” said survivor Mehul Raval, who was admitted to the hospital.

(With PTI inputs)

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