There were so many dead that their families had to queue to bury them.

Hundreds of mourners crowded between the rows of graves at Morbi’s Muslim cemetery on Monday, a day after more than 130 people were killed in India’s worst bridge collapse in decades.

Relatives, with the help of staff, dug graves for their loved ones, while mourners tried to comfort each other and volunteers offered water to grieving families.

Some hugged, some cried, some mourned in silence as they waited their turn to lay the bodies, the lack of coffins slowing the process.

The newly renovated nearly 150-year-old suspension bridge in the city of Gujarat – a well-known tourist attraction – was packed with visitors when it collapsed on the last day of the Diwali holiday season.

Around 50 Hindu cremations took place on Monday and 37 Muslim burials were conducted at the only Islamic cemetery in the district.

Local businessman Rafiq Gaffar buried two of his nephews: Nisar Iqbal, 21, and 12-year-old Arman Irfan.

They were close friends and had told their mothers they were going to the bridge. The family rushed to the site upon learning of the collapse.

“It was chaos,” said Gaffar, 45. “People were crying and wailing. It was a scene from the end of the world.

“There were bodies floating everywhere and people trapped on the bridge desperately crying out for help.

“We had no hope after seeing the scenes. We were just hoping to see their bodies.”

They searched for the boys for eight hours, he said, but did not find them.

“Finally, around six in the morning, their bodies were fished out.

“Our family is devastated and it is difficult to get over the loss.”

Arman is the eldest of three brothers, he added. “He was in school and too young to die.”

Nisar had just started working in a parts store and was helping to earn money for the family.

“He has a sister who is getting married next year but we don’t know what will happen now. It will take forever, even our lives, to get out of this tragedy.

“They were young and we have nothing now.”

The bridge had just reopened after a months-long renovation and reportedly had not received proper permits.

Nine people from the management company that ran it were arrested Monday on suspicion of manslaughter, which did not amount to murder, police said.

“The government is clearly to blame,” Gaffar said. “Our lives have been reduced to the mere 15 rupees (18 US cents) that the government made from the tickets.

“We do not expect justice. The powerful rule this country and the poor suffer. No one will ever be held responsible for the deaths.”

Qadir Bhai Sama, 80, has fond memories of going to the bridge with his grandson as a child.

Sahil Dilawar Sama, now 17, went there for the last time on Sunday with three friends.

“He promised his mother that he would be back in two hours, but the next day only his body returned,” Sama said.

Of the three friends accompanying him, one also died and the other two were hospitalized, he added.

“They were close and even tried to save each other.”

The officer in charge of the cemetery, Mohammad Toufeeq, 40, said his staff worked non-stop to help the victims’ families.

“We haven’t slept or eaten since last night,” he said. “The whole region is in mourning.

“We feel broken and devastated. There are no words to describe the loss and I think there is nothing that can ease our pain.”