PM In Morbi Today, Supreme Court To Hear Plea On Bridge Tragedy: 10 Facts

The Prime Minister is expected to visit the incident site in Morbi and the civil hospital where the injured have been admitted. He chaired a high-level meeting last night during which he was briefed about the rescue efforts.

The British-era suspension bridge in Morbi, which had been closed since March for renovation, collapsed on Sunday night - just four days after it reopened to the public. At least 47 children, several women and elderly are among the dead, according to the officials.

Nearly 500 people were on the bridge when it collapsed. Though, the 150-year-old structure could take the weight of only about 125 people.

The bridge was opened to the public ahead of schedule by five months, the documents show. The Oreva Group, the company that renovated the bridge, did not take a fitness certificate from the civic authorities before opening the bridge, which Morbi municipal agency chief Sandipsinh Zala confirmed to NDTV on Sunday.

The company was bound by its contract to keep the bridge shut for at least eight to 12 months for maintenance and repairs. It was a "seriously irresponsible and careless gesture" to open the bridge last week, the police said in an FIR.

Tickets were sold for Rs 12 to Rs 17 on Sunday to more than 400 people, officials said, which resulted in overcrowding on the "hanging bridge", causing the old metal cables to give way. Gujarat's forensics laboratory has also found that the bridge collapsed under the weight of the huge rush of people, sources have said.

Some of the old cables of the bridge in Morbi weren't changed during the seven-month renovation by the Oreva Group, sources added. Nine people have been arrested in the case so far. Among them are managers of Oreva, ticket collectors, bridge repair contractors and three security guards whose job was to control the crowds.

A Public Interest Litigation or PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a judicial probe into the Morbi bridge collapse. The PIL also seeks directions to the states to conduct a survey of all the "old and risky" structures. The Supreme Court will take up the plea on November 14.

Rescue teams resumed their operation this morning with boats and divers searching the Machchhu river, although nearly all those believed to have been missing are now accounted for.

People fell on top of each other after the bridge snapped. Videos showed many desperately clinging to the remains of the bridge while some were seen swimming to safety. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has declared a statewide mourning on Wednesday for the victims of the bridge collapse.