"I saw on TV that the the bridge has collapsed. I called Bhavesh to check up on him, but the call could not go through. I called his wife and daughter too, but all their phones were switched off. I then called their neighbour who told me that Bhavesh and his family had gone to the Jhulta Pul," said Ashok Bhindi (62), a cousin of Bhavesh Bhindi whose entire family of four members was wiped out in the bridge collapse in Gujarat's Morbi on 30 October.
Along with Bhavesh (40), his wife Mita (36), and their two children Dhruvi (15) and Nisarg (8), all lost their lives in the tragedy. While Bhavesh was a jeweller by profession, Mita was a beautician.
"My son and I immediately reached the civil hospital on our bike. I showed their photos on my phone to everyone around ," Ashok said.
The Rigorous Search
Ashok knew that he had an uphill task of finding the family, given the number of dead bodies arriving at the hospital. After hours of rigorous search, they first found the body of Bhavesh, followed by his two children.
But the struggle struggle to find Mita was still on. After another hour-long search, more unidentified bodies reached the civil hospital.
"The doctor told us that there were many women among those. My son and I went there to look for Mita and after some searching, we finally found her," said Ashok, holding back tears.
'He'd Usually Spend Sundays With Us, But...'
Bhavesh's two siblings and their families who lived in Rajkot arrived next morning and conducted the last rites. The house that Bhavesh lived in with his family is now locked.
"The last I met him was just a week ago on Gujarati New Year. We travelled to our ancestral village Manekwada to visit a temple there. He would usually come to our house on Sunday evenings. If only he had come to our house this Sunday, he might still be with us," Ashok said.
"We had a great relationship with the children as well. His eight-year-old son (Nisarg), would come here and play with us all the time. He would jump around, just like other kids," Ashok said.
Describing Dhruvi as a bright class 8 student, Ashok said: "She would also help her mother in domestic chores, cooking or washing clothes. She was a very calm and quiet girl. She would make wonderful tea."
The bridge had been under renovation for the last seven months and had been reopened to the public on 26 October. Nine people, including those from the Oreva group responsible for the maintenance of the bridge, have been arrested so far.
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