The suspension bridge over the Machchhu river was more than a century old.
“In March this year, it was closed to the public for renovation,” Sandeep Jhala, the chief of the local Morbi municipality, told reporters.
Mr Jhala says the bridge was reopened to the public after repairs only on 26 October.
“But the local municipality had not yet issued a fitness certificate (after the renovation work),” he says.
Mr Jhala told local media that the municipality didn’t know yet “how the bridge collapsed, what was its capacity, whether they had taken any fitness certificate or not, what kind of material was used in it“.
What happened?
Reports said several hundred people were on the bridge at the time of the collapse on Sunday.
A major tourist attraction, the century-old narrow cable bridge, built over the Machchu river, draws tourists in big numbers.
The bridge was particularly busy this weekend as the Hindu festival season of Diwali and Chhath Puja drew a large number of visitors to the tourist spot, which was reopened to the public only last week.
Reports say hundreds of families were on the bridge when it collapsed.
Victims mostly include children, women, and elderly people.
Videos on social media showed dozens clinging onto the floating wreckage as emergency teams attempted to rescue them. Many children and women, who were stuck, could be heard crying for help.
Some managed to swim to the river banks.
At least 141 died and several dozens have been injured.
Source: BBC.com