Morbi bridge collapse: Families line up to bury dead

MORBI,NOV 1: There were so many dead that their families had to queue up to bury them.

Hundreds of mourners milled among the rows of graves at the Muslim cemetery in Morbi on Monday, a day after more than 130 people were killed in India’s worst bridge collapse in decades.

Relatives dug graves for their kin with the help of staff, as mourners tried to comfort each other and volunteers offered the grieving families water.

Some hugged each other, some cried, some mourned in silence as they waited their turn to lay the bodies to rest, with a shortage of coffins slowing the process.

The newly-renovated, nearly 150-year-old suspension bridge in the Gujarat town — a renowned tourist attraction — was packed with visitors when it collapsed on the last day of the Diwali holiday season.

Around 50 Hindu cremations were held on Monday, and 37 Muslim funerals were being carried out at the only Islamic cemetery in the district.

Local businessman Rafiq Gaffar was burying two of his nephews: Nisar Iqbal, 21, and 12-year-old Arman Irfan.

They were close friends and had told their mothers they were going to the bridge. The family rushed to the site when they learned of the collapse.

“It was mayhem,” said Gaffar, 45. “People were crying and wailing. It was a scene from doomsday.

“There were bodies floating on the water everywhere and people trapped on the bridge who were frantically calling for help.

• AFP