A cable bridge was built on the river Machchu nearly 140 years ago, in Gujarat’s Morbi town. The bridge was recently repaired and opened for the public, just a few days ago. Today, a lot of people stood on the bridge, and as a result of overloading the bridge, the bridge collapsed.
At the time of the collapse, there were nearly 500 people on the bridge, of which more than 100 people are estimated to have drowned in the river, while many others sustained serious injuries. As soon as he heard the news, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel canceled all his meetings and rushed to Morbi, to review the situation directly.
The Chief Minister announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 4 Lakhs each, to the families of the deceased, and Rs. 50,000 each, to the families of the injured. Rescue operations are currently underway near the bridge, and more information about the incident is yet to come about.