At least 75 people were killed in India on Sunday, after an almost 150-year-old colonial-era pedestrian bridge collapsed, sending scores of people tumbling into the river below, AFP reported.
Authorities said nearly 500 people, including women and children, were celebrating a religious festival on and around the suspension bridge in Morbi in western India when cables supporting it snapped soon after dark.
This brought the rickety structure in the western state of Gujarat crashing down into the river, spilling scores of people into the water while others clung desperately to the wreckage.
"75 people have died," a district civil official told AFP over phone. He said most the victims drowned.
Other unconfirmed media reports put the death toll at around 90.
Brijesh Merja, a minister in the Gujarat government, said more than 80 people have been rescued.
The bridge over the Machchhu river around 200 kilometers west of Gujarat's main city, Ahmedabad, had only re-opened several days earlier after months of repairs.
News reports showed videos -- which could not be independently verified -- of people hanging onto what remained of the bridge or trying to swim to safety in the dark.
The suspension bridge, 233 meters long and 1.5 meters wide, was inaugurated in 1880 by the British colonial authorities and made with materials shipped over from England, reports said.
Local broadcaster NDTV reported that it reopened on Wednesday after seven months of repairs despite not having a safety certificate, and that video footage from Saturday showed it swaying wildly.
Dozens of soldiers from the Indian Army and Navy were also called for the rescue operation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was touring his home state of Gujarat at the time, announced compensation for those killed and injured in the accident.