Warsaw

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Zbigniew Rau, expressed grief over Morbi bridge collapse incident in Gujarat, saying the city has a special place in Polish-Indian relations.

Taking to Twitter, the Polish Foreign Minister said, "My deep and sincere condolences to the Nation of India for the tragedy in Morbi, Gujarat. This city has a special place in Polish-Indian relations."

The Minister hailed bilateral ties between India and Poland because in 1941, when World War II broke out, India housed many polish people, including children who were refused by many landlocked countries during the shelter during the war. The royal state of Nawnagar in Gujarat came forward to the rescue of the Polish people.

Maharaja Digvijaysinghji Ranjitsinghji Jadeja of the small princely state not only fought the British government at the time to open doors to unsettled Polish people who were stranded due to world war but also granted refuge to undernourished Polish children.

At least 68 persons lost their lives in the Morbi cable bridge collapse incident that took place in Gujarat on Sunday evening and the NDRF continues to conduct the rescue operation. The eyewitnesses Amit Patel & Sukram present on the spot said that the incident might have taken place because of the huge crowd at the bridge.

"Many people came here in view of the Diwali holidays and weekend; it's a tourist-friendly place. The incident occurred probably because of the huge crowd at the bridge. When it collapsed, people fell over each other," they said.

State Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi assured that a case has been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the management team of the Morbi bridge after the traffic incident. "Cases under sections 304, 308 and 114 of IPC have been registered on the management team of the bridge," he said.

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Soon after the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of each of those who lost their lives in the mishap in Morbi.

The injured would be given Rs 50,000.

The Prime Minister also spoke to Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel and other officials regarding the mishap in Morbi and sought urgent mobilisation of teams for rescue ops. He has also asked that the situation be closely and continuously monitored and extend all possible help to those affected.