The old wooden footbridge over a spring gave way under pressure of a crowd during a Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) meeting nearby at Bijanbari Saturday.
Chief Medical Officer Health (CMOH) of Darjeeling Subir Bhowmick said seven more persons have died and the toll has risen to 31.
The CMOH said over 60 people were injured and the seriously injured persons have been admitted to North Bengal Medical College Hospital at Siliguri and at Darjeeling Hospital
The bridge, which had been weakened by the Sept 18 earthquake, gave way when a large number of people gathered on it for the GJM meeting.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would visit Darjeeling
The army has also been requested to send a team to help in the rescue operation.
An army spokesman said a 40-member team of the Mountain Brigade along with a medical team was on its way to Bijanbari at the request of the district administration.
North Bengal Development Minister Gautam Deb on Saturday reached the spot and monitored and supervised the rescue operations.
Over a 100 people had gathered on the bridge to listen to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders. The pressure of the crowd led to the collapse of the bridge.
The suspension bridge was built in 1972. It was meant for pedestrians but over time was used by motorcycles which weakened it.
Superintendent of Police Anand Kumar said the death toll might go up. North Bengal Development Minister Gautam Deb, who was at the spot, said the rescue operation was on in full swing and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was personally monitoring and supervising it. -- NNN-PTI
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