Bridge Collapse Kills 60 People in India

On Sunday, Gujarat's Housing Minister Brijesh Merja confirmed that 60 people died as a result of the collapse of a suspension bridge in Morbi that broke while hundreds of people were crossing this infrastructure.

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Authorities mobilized the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for rescue operations in the area, said Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, who announced that he would be monitoring the situation in person.

"We are receiving all kinds of help... The NDRF and other agencies have been instructed to arrive at the scene," the Regional Interior Minister Harsh Sanghavi said.

Most of the people injured in the collapse have been admitted to hospital. So far, local authorities have managed to rescue a good part of the people who fell into the river.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was taking part in an official event in Gujarat when the accident occurred, assured that the rescue operations will have the full support of his administration.

"I am deeply saddened by the Morbi tragedy. I spoke with the Gujarat's head of government and other officials about this. Relief and rescue operations are in full swing," he said.

The Mobi pedestrian bridge was 1.25 meters wide and over 200 meters long. This historic infrastructure was more than a century old and was reopened to the public on Oct. 26 after some repair and renovation works.