WATCH: Video Shows The Exact Moment Morbi Bridge Collapsed; Eyewitnesses Recount Horror

New Delhi: Witnesses described the horrors of the late-Sunday-evening fall of the Morbi bridge. A century-old bridge that had just recently been reopened for the public collapsed at about 6:30 pm, killing as many as 140 people. Currently, rescue efforts are being carried out on a war footing by teams from the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Fire Brigade, and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).

There are currently searches being made for the 177 people who are believed to be missing.

An eye-witness said, “People were hanging from the cables and then they slipped. I didn’t sleep and we helped people the whole night. It was heartbreaking to see a 7/8-month pregnant lady die.”

Another visitor recounted that some people were shaking the bridge despite being asked not to.

“Some young guys on the bridge, were indifferent to the warnings from the staff, they were continuously shaking the bridge undermining the threat it possessed,” he said.

The Gujarat government has registered a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

In a major development, Morbi civic body head exclaimed that the bridge was reopened without clearance from the authorities.