Muslim Heroes Save Over 150 People After Morbi Bridge Collapses in Gujarat
On October 30, Vadodara, Gujarat was celebrating Chhath Puja, when the 150-year-old British era suspension Morbi bridge collapsed into the Machhu river with over 500 men, women, and children and took the lives of more than 140. Most of the victims were women and children.
As the state mourned the losses of those killed, names of several Muslims have emerged as heroes who risked their own lives as they scrambled to bring surviving victims to safety.
As people fell into the Machhu river, Mahbub Hussain Pathan, Taufik Bhai, Naeem Sheikh as well as five of his friends saved the lives of over 170 people. Pathan, an expert swimmer, was called to the site by a local reporter and saved 50-60 people, some of them pregnant women and children.
Taufik Bhai brought over 35 struggling children to safety from the river, many children still fighting for their lives, he said. Sheikh, a migrant worker from Kolkata, rushed to the site with five of his friends and saved the lives of over 50 people. Amidst rescue efforts, one of his friends, Habibul Sheikh, lost his life due to ingesting too much water.
Other Muslims are said to have also risked their lives to save strangers, such as Hussain, an ambulance driver who ferried the injured to the hospital all night, The Quint said.
The cable bridge had reopened on 26th October after closing it for maintenance. It had a capacity of holding a maximum of 200 people. Minutes before it collapsed, shoving mobs of pedestrians into the river, more than 650 tickets were sold citing the number of people on the bridge at that time.Nine people were arrested in relation to the tragedy of which two are ticket booking clerks and two managers.
Social media denizens pointed out how despite Gujrat being one of the states that has a bloody history of Hinduvta mobs attacking Muslims resulting in deep rooted Islamophobia, heroes like Hussain Pathan and Naeem Sheikh selflessly and silently continue to put their lives on the line to save others.
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