Morbi tragedy: Injured youth saves 60 lives, but his friend died

The heroic actions of a youth, who himself was one of the victims of the Morbi bridge collapse, has saved the lives of around 60 people.

The Morbi bridge collapse incident claimed the lives of 135 people.

Naim Sheikh, who knew how to swim managed to save, with the help of his friends, about 50-60 people, even though, he himself was also injured in the incident.

He is currently admitted to Civil Hospital in Morbi and undergoing medical treatment.

Speaking to ANI, Sheikh said he along with his five friends was at the bridge when it collapsed.

Five of them survived but sadly, one of his friends died in the incident.

"Six of us had gone there, out of which only five of us have survived and one died. I can swim, so, my friends and I together managed to save about 50-60 people. It was heart-rending. I got hurt when I was bringing the people to safety," Sheikh told ANI.

Another survivor said that around 500 people were on the bridge when it collapsed.

"Around 500 people were on the bridge when suddenly it collapsed and we all fell in the water. For around one hour I was in the water," he added.

Meanwhile, the Indian Coast Guard, Indian Navy and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) along with local administration and other agencies are carrying out search and rescue operations at the spot of the Morbi bridge collapse.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Morbi on Tuesday.

Earlier on October 31, nine persons, including officials of Oreva, the company that renovated the bridge, ticket sellers and security men, were arrested for the Morbi bridge collapse in Gujarat.

On Sunday, the suspension bridge above the Machchhu River in the Morbi district.

Visuals showed people falling into the river below.

Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi said that a criminal case has been registered in connection with the incident.

The Gujarat government has constituted a five-member committee headed to probe the bridge collapse incident.

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.

State-wide mourning in Gujarat will take place on November 2.