Foreign envoys express grief over Morbi tragedy in Gujarat

New Delhi [India], October 31 (ANI): Foreign envoys on Monday extended their deep condolences to India on the loss of precious lives in the tragic incident of the bridge collapse in Morbi, Gujarat.
Among the ambassadors who extended their condolences were Denis Alipov, Russian Ambassador to India; Emmanuel Lenain, Ambassador of France to India; Cameron MacKay, High Commissioner for Canada in India, as well as, US Embassy in India.
"An awful tragedy happened yesterday in Morbi! Profound condolences to the relatives of those many perished, to Prime Minister Modi and all the people of India and Gujarat! Speedy recovery to the injured!" tweeted Alipov.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin extended his condolences on the Morbi tragedy in Gujarat to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Please accept our most sincere condolences on the tragic consequences of the bridge collapse in the state of Gujarat," read Putin's statement.
Meanwhile, US Embassy in India also extended its heartfelt condolences to the victims and families of this terrible tragedy.
"The US Mission in India is deeply saddened by news of the collapse of a suspension bridge in Morbi, Gujarat. Our condolences go out to the victims and families of this terrible tragedy," tweeted the US Embassy.
France too expressed its deepest condolences to the bereaved families of the victims and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
"Deeply saddened by the loss of lives following the tragic incident of #MorbiBridge collapse in #Gujarat. France expresses its deepest condolences to the bereaved families of the victims & wishes the injured a speedy recovery," tweeted Lenain.
MacKay also tweeted his condolences. "Our hearts are breaking for Gujarat," said MacKay.
According to the latest reports, the death toll in the mishap went up to 132 on Monday morning. Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi said that a criminal case has been registered in connection with the incident.
A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed by the Gujarat Police in the bridge collapse incident in Gujarat's Morbi district against private agencies for attempt to commit culpable homicide and culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The police also informed that the management person/ agency did not take due care and quality check of the bridge and kept it open for the people on October 26, displaying severe carelessness.
As per reports, the bridge was closed for about 8 months for maintenance and the repair work was being completed by a private agency.
"The cable bridge on the river was kept open without proper repair and maintenance and carelessness of the management and due to technical issues, the bridge collapsed at around 18:30 hours. Hence FIR has been registered under Sections 304, 308, and 114 of the Indian penal code against the Maintenance and Management person/agency," police inspector Dekavadiya said.
Teams including Army, Navy, Air Force, NDRF, and Fire Brigade conducted a search operation throughout the night to rescue people who had fallen into the Macchu river after the bridge collapsed, as per officials. (ANI)