Ahmedabad: The death toll in the Gambhira Bridge collapse over the Mahisagar River in Gujarat’s Vadodara district rose to 19 on Friday, with search operations continuing for two missing persons, more than 52 hours after the incident.
“So far, we have recovered eighteen bodies from the site. One of the five persons injured in the incident and admitted to a hospital has succumbed due to multiple injuries. The body of the deceased has been sent for post-mortem. We are still searching for the two persons who are reported missing,” Vadodara district collector Anil Dhameliya told HT.
The incident occurred at 7.30am on Wednesday when two lorries, an SUV, a pickup van and an auto-rickshaw fell into the water after a span of the Gambhira Bridge, which falls under the Roads and Buildings Department, gave way at Padra. The visuals of a tanker hanging precariously from the damaged structure went viral on social media.
The bridge, built in 1985 connecting Anand and Vadodara districts, had been increasingly used by heavy lorries seeking to avoid tolls on the six-lane Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway—a detour that shortened their journey by 30-35 kilometres, locals said.
Chief minister Bhupendra Patel has ordered a detailed investigation into the bridge collapse and directed immediate inspections of all bridges across the state to ensure public safety.
{{/usCountry}}Chief minister Bhupendra Patel has ordered a detailed investigation into the bridge collapse and directed immediate inspections of all bridges across the state to ensure public safety.
{{/usCountry}}On Thursday, Patel suspended four officials from the Roads and Buildings Department in connection with the incident. They include executive engineer N.M. Nayakawala, deputy executive engineers U.C. Patel and R.T. Patel, and assistant engineer J.V. Shah. The decision followed preliminary findings from an expert team’s on-site investigation of the bridge’s repairs, inspections, and quality checks.
Rescue operations have been ongoing near Mujpur village in Padra, with teams working to locate the missing people and retrieve bodies from the debris.
A truck laden with ceramic tiles, stuck in thick sludge in the Mahisagar riverbed, became a focal point of the search operations on Thursday as it was suspected to have trapped victims or contained clues to the whereabouts of the missing.
Floodlights were used late into Wednesday night, and steel cables attached to an excavator uprighted the truck, after which three bodies were recovered. The bodies were sent to the Padra Community Health Centre for medical examination and handed over to their families.
The chief minister has announced a compensation of ₹4 lakh for the families of those who died.
The collapse has disrupted traffic between Anand, Vadodara, Bharuch, and Saurashtra. Heavy vehicles are now using the Vasad route, while light vehicles are taking the Umeta route.