NEW DELHI (HRNW) — The 143-year-old cable suspension bridge that collapsed Sunday in the western Indian state of Gujarat in one of the country’s worst disasters in years was built using the latest technology available in Europe at the time.
Its cables snapped and its walkway gave way under the weight of hundreds of sightseers, sending hundreds plunging into the water. As of late Monday, at least 133 people had died, 177 were injured and many others were missing.
Here’s a brief look at the bridge and Morbi, the town where it’s located:
At 1.25 meters (4 feet) wide and 233 meters (764 feet) long and known locally as the “jhoolta pool,” or swinging bridge, the structure was inaugurated in 1879 during British rule.
Many in India are openly disdainful of the colonial past, but the Morbi bridge, which spans a wide section of the Machchu river, seems to have been an exception.