Putin, Deuba condole tragic incident of bridge collapse in Morbi

NEW DELHI: Prominent world leaders on Monday extended heartfelt condolences to India on the loss of precious lives in the tragic incident of the bridge collapse in Morbi, Gujarat.

Russian President Vladimir Putin extended his condolences on the Morbi tragedy in Gujarat to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Please accept our most sincere condolences on the tragic consequences of the bridge collapse in the state of Gujarat. Please convey the words of sympathy and support to the families of the victims, as well as the wishes of a speedy recovery to all those affected by this disaster,” read Putin’s statement.

Prime Minister of Nepal, Sher Bahadur Deuba also expressed his grief over the tragic incident in Gujarat. “I am deeply saddened by the tragic incident of bridge collapse in Morbi, Gujarat. We extend heartfelt condolences to the Government and people of India on the loss of precious lives. Our thoughts & prayers are with the bereaved families,” tweeted Deuba.

British High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis was shocked by Morbi tragedy in Gujarat. He tweeted, “Terrible, shocking news from #Gujarat.”

According to the latest reports, the death toll in the mishap went up to 132 on Monday morning.

Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi said that a criminal case has been registered in connection with the incident. A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed by the Gujarat Police in the bridge collapse incident in Gujarat’s Morbi district against private agencies for attempt to commit culpable homicide and culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

The police also informed that the management person/ agency did not take due care and quality check of the bridge and kept it open for the people on October 26, displaying severe carelessness.

As per reports, the bridge was closed for about 8 months for maintenance and the repair work was being completed by a private agency.

“The cable bridge on the river was kept open without proper repair and maintenance and carelessness of the management and due to technical issues, the bridge collapsed at around 18:30 hours. Hence FIR has been registered under Sections 304, 308, and 114 of the Indian penal code against the Maintenance and Management person/agency,” police inspector Dekavadiya said.

Teams including Army, Navy, Air Force, NDRF, and Fire Brigade conducted a search operation throughout the night to rescue people who had fallen into the Macchu river after the bridge collapsed, as per officials.

(ANI)