75 killed in bridge collapse in India

At least 75 people were killed in India on Sunday night after a suspension bridge over a river in Gujarat state collapsed, a local government official said.

The British colonial-era bridge has reopened to the public after months of work.

“Seventy-five people died,” a local official told AFP by telephone. Many of the victims drowned, he said.

Local media quoted local officials as estimating that up to 500 people may have been on the Morbi bridge when it collapsed, engaged in religious rituals.

More than 100 people are still wanted, according to local media, which showed videos of people clutching debris from the bridge construction in the dark.

A rescue operation involving divers has been launched.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Gujarat, where he is based, called for “urgent mobilization of rescue teams” and assistance to all victims, his ministry tweeted.

Accidents on old and poorly maintained infrastructure are common in India, especially on bridges.

In 2016, at least 26 people died after a footbridge collapsed on a busy street in the city of Kolkata (East).

In 2011, at least 32 people were killed when a bridge collapsed on festival-goers in northeastern India about 30 kilometers from the city of Darjeeling.

Less than a week after the collapse of a foot over bridge crossing a river in the state of Aruchnal Pradesh (north-east), around 30 people died.

In 2006, at least 34 people were killed when a 150-year-old bridge collapsed on a passenger train at a station in Bihar state (East).