On Sunday evening, Chirag Mucchadiya wey dey 20 years and im brothers, Dharmik, 17, and Chetan, 15 go outing.
Dem tell dia mama Kantaben say dem dey go “julto pul”, or hanging bridge – one historic colonial era suspension footbridge, wey dem just reopen few days earlier, afta months wey dem dey repair am.
Na di week of Diwali festivities. Schools dey on break, and many families bin get di same idea as Chirag and im brothers.
Dem buy ticket -17 rupees ($0.21) for adults and 12 for children – and waka across di 230-metre (755ft) bridge.
Nitin Kavaiya dey dia too, with im wife, and im two daughters – one dey seven years , and di oda one na seven-month old infant.
Di family posed for photos, including selfies. Around 18:30 local time them comot from di bridge, dem go sitdown for one of di banks of di Macchu river.
“E bin dey very crowded ontop di bridge. I think dem fit be like 400-500 pipo ontop,” Nitin tok.
“I go tell di pipo wey dey sell tickets say make dem reduce di crowds, I no know wetin dem do about am.
Ten minutes later, as im bend down to give im baby girl water, im hear sound shouting and screaming.
Di bridge don bend, closer to di oda end of di shore, and di metal walkway wia pipo dey pass dey shake on both sides.
“I see as pipo dey fall inside water and dem no comeout afta dat,” im tok. “Odas dey hold parts of di bridge trying to stay afloat. Many of us try to help anybody wey we fit”
At least 141 pipo die. Chirag, Chetan and Dharmik dey among dem.
Back for di brothers’ house, one of dia friends tell dia mama, Kantaben say di bridge don collapse.
“I start to call my sons, but I no get through,” she tok. “I bin dey restless I begin waka upandan for my house.”
Her husband Rajesh rush go di place . Den im begin waka from hospital to hospital. Around 23:00, e see di deadibodies of Dharmik and Chirag for di Morbi Civil Hospital.
For darkness inside night, di police, local officials, disaster response teams and military personnel kontinu dia search for survivors, and di bodies of pipo wey die.
Around 03:00, dem find Chetan deadibody too. For di Mucchadiya home, plenti mourners begin to visit dem.
“We don lose all our sons. our evritin,” Kantaben tok. “Wetin we get now, My husband and I dey all alone.”
Chirag, wey dey 20 years bin dey work for factory wia dem dey produce eyeglasses. Im salary plus wetin im papa Rajesh dey earn as driver dey sustain di family.
“Chirag na very nice person. E dey listen to evritin I tell am. And I also tried to give am anytin e ask for,” Rajesh tok.
Dharmik for be 18 years on 14 December. Im don begin start to find work.
“Im bin dey very mischievous. We bin get plenti fun times togeda. Now all dem don go,” im papa tok.
“E like tel paratha (fried flatbread) and e want make I make am for am evritime.
E mama add.
Chetan be di youngest and im bin dey im 10th grade for school. Rajesh describe am as a “master for studies”.
Dem proudly display passport size photos of dia sons, wey dem take a few years ago wen dem bin dey younger.
“Make dem punish anyybody wey get hand for my son deaths,” Kantaben tok. “Make dem rot in in jail for di rest of dia lives. Make dem give dem death sentence.”
Rajesh add: “We want answers. And we want justice.”
Plenti families dey wey loss more dan one member for di collapse.
Dem don arrest Nine pipo so far, including di ticket sellers, security guards and managers of Oreva, di company wey renovate di bridge.
Oreva neva respond to questions about di collapse. Some dey ask if if top-level managers for di company go also dey investigated.
Many dey also ask questions about di role of civic officials -dem dey ask if dem do safety checks before dem reopen di bridge.
“Anytime I close my eyes I dey see di visual of di collapsed bridge, and hear di voices of di pipo wey dey fall inside di river,” says Nitin.
“I tear di ticket stub I bin get sake of anger. And no be only me – the whole town dey in grief and anger.”
Rajesh, dey call for “proper investigation”.
“Otherwise,” im say, “pipo go kontinu to dielike im pikin dem.”
Dozens have died after a bridge collapsed in India’s western state of Gujarat.
A video posted on social media shows people climbing up netted wire remains of the bridge to escape the water.
Reports say as many as 400 people were on the structure at the time. Rescue efforts are ongoing.
The incident comes just days after the bridge was reopened following repairs.
More on this story here.
