by Peerzada Arshad Hamid
NEW DELHI, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Footage of the pedestrian suspension bridge captured on closed-circuit television (CCTV) ahead of its horrific collapse in India's western state of Gujarat that killed over 130 people showed some young men had been deliberately shaking it.
Another video shows youngsters kicking the cables with their feet and thumping the bridge with their feet to cause it to sway.
The CCTV footage captured just before the bridge collapse and aired by some news channels showed a group of young men taking photos with their mobile phones while others tried to sway it following which the cables holding it suddenly get snapped and people on it were tumbled into the river.
The local government of Gujarat has already ordered a probe into the deadly collapse of the bridge.
According to senior police official Ashok Yadav, so far 134 bodies have been recovered from the river.
"The entire issue has been given to the high-power committee to examine and review the causes and circumstances that led to the bridge collapse," Yadav told media. "Till now we have recovered 134 bodies."
However, local media outlets put the death toll at 141 including 47 children.
According to officials, the victims included children, women and the elderly.
Reports said about 177 people have been rescued.
The British-era pedestrian bridge collapsed Sunday evening plunging hundreds of people into Machchhu River in Morbi town, about 241 km west of Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat.
Preliminary investigation suggests overcrowding at the bridge has caused it to collapse.
The 230-meter bridge is said to have been built in 1877.
The bridge is a popular tourist attraction in the area. It was shut for renovation for seven months and was thrown open for the public on Oct. 26, the Gujarati New Year.
Reports said around 500 people, much beyond its capacity, were on the suspension bridge at the time it crashed into the river below.
Vijay Goswami, a local who sensed fear and cut short his visit to the bridge had alerted the officials about some youth swaying the bridge.
"There was a huge crowd on the bridge. My family and I were on the bridge when some youths started shaking it intentionally. It was impossible for people to stand without holding any support. Since I had a feeling that it may prove dangerous, my family and I came back after covering some distance on the bridge," Goswami told media.
"Before leaving the spot, I alerted the on-duty staff to stop people from shaking the bridge. However, they were only interested in selling tickets and told us that there is no system to control the crowd. Hours after we left, our fears turned true as the bridge eventually collapsed."
Municipality officials have told local media the bridge may have been reopened without a "fitness certificate."
Local television news channel NDTV said nine people had been arrested.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently in his home state Gujarat and is scheduled to visit Morbi on Tuesday.
"I am in Ekta Nagar but my mind is with the victims of Morbi. Rarely in my life, would I have experienced such pain. On one hand, there is a pain-riddled heart and on the other hand, there is the path to duty," Modi said while addressing a function in Gujarat.
The search operation in the river has been called off on Monday evening, NDTV said, adding it will resume on Tuesday morning. The channel said nearly a hundred bodies were feared trapped in the muddy water.
Apart from State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams, teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Indian Navy, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army are on the spot to assist in searches to recover the bodies. ■
