Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called for a “detailed and extensive” enquiry into the Morbi bridge collapse tragedy and said its key learnings must be implemented at the earliest. As many as 135 bodies have been recovered from the Machchhu river in Gujarat’s Morbi town by the armed forces, National Disaster Response Force and other rescue agencies after the British-era suspension bridge collapsed on Sunday, officials said.
Modi visited the collapse site and the local hospital where the injured have been admitted. He also chaired a high-level meeting at Morbi to review the situation, the PM’s Office said in a release.
“The need of the hour is to conduct a detailed and extensive enquiry which will identify all aspects relating to this mishap,” Modi said. Key learnings from the enquiry must be implemented at the earliest and authorities must stay in touch with the affected families and ensure that they receive all possible help in this tragic hour, he said.
The meeting was attended by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi, local MLA and minister Brijesh Merja, State Chief Secretary Pankaj Kumar and State Director General of Police Ashish Bhatia, among others.
Modi also interacted with those involved in rescue and relief work and lauded their efforts. State Minister Rajendra Trivedi said as many as 170 persons were rescued after the collapse.
“The kin of all the deceased have already been paid a compensation of `4 lakh each as announced by the Gujarat Government. A compensation of `2 lakh announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be deposited soon into their bank accounts through DBT (direct bank transfer),” the Minister told reporters in Gandhinagar.