Vadodara bridge collapse: Death toll rises to 20, one person still missing

The death toll in the Mahisagar river bridge collapse in Gujarat's Vadodara district rose to 20 on Friday after an injured man died in hospital and the body of a missing person was found in the river, officials said.

One more person was still missing, and efforts to find him will be resumed on Saturday as the search and rescue operation concluded in the evening, they said.

Citing a preliminary probe report, a state minister said the collapse was caused by the “crushing of pedestal and articulation joints”.

Several vehicles plunged into the river after a segment of the four-decade-old bridge near Gambhira village, connecting Anand and Vadodara districts, collapsed on Wednesday morning.

"On the first day we managed to recover 12 bodies and six on the second day. Today, one victim died unfortunately at the hospital and we managed to retrieve another body," Vadodara collector Anil Dhamaliya said.

Narendrasinh Parmar (45), resident of resident of Dahevan village, died during treatment at Vadodara's SSG Hospital.

The main focus of the next stage of the operation on Saturday will be removing a large chunk of slab that has fallen into the river, the collector said.

“We will try to remove the main slab with the help of the technical team. Along with that, we will also try to retrieve a person in the missing list. Efforts will also be made to safely remove a tanker carrying sulfuric acid which is still stuck in the water,” he said.

On Thursday, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel suspended four engineers of the state's Roads and Buildings Department in connection with the bridge collapse.

Minister Rushikesh Patel visited the site of the tragedy and informed the media that action has been taken on the basis of a preliminary report submitted by a committee set up by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.

A high-level probe committee of the state's roads and buildings department will submit a detailed report in 30 days, he said. Out of the 7,000 bridges in the state that have been surveyed, the government has identified those that need repairs or require construction of a new one. Action is taken on them accordingly, he said after the visit.

"The state government placed four roads and buildings department officials under suspension," said Patel who also later visited the injured persons at the SSG Hospital and enquired about their health.

Collector Dhamaliya, meanwhile, noted that the rescuers faced several challenges such as 3.5-metre deep mud, release of soda ash in water, a tanker of sulfuric acid, a truck placed precariously overhead. “But the team managed to face all these challenges to carry out the operation,” he added.

He also acknowledged the role played by the local community in the rescue operation, noting that they were the first responders.

The search and rescue operation is being carried out by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and other agencies.

At least six major incidents of bridge collapse have taken place in Gujarat since 2021. In December 2021, a slab collapsed during the construction of the Mumatpura flyover on the outskirts of Ahmedabad city. Nobody was injured in the incident. In October 2022, as many as 135 persons were killed when a British-era suspension bridge over the Machchhu river in Morbi town collapsed.

In June 2023, a newly-built bridge on the Mindhola river in the Tapi district collapsed. No one was hurt in the accident. In September 2023, four persons were injured after a portion of an old bridge on the Bhogavo river in Surendranagar district collapsed when a 40-tonne dumper was navigating it near Wadhwan city. In October 2023, two persons sitting in an autorickshaw died after six concrete girders or slabs, which were installed on the pillars of an under-construction bridge near the RTO Circle in Palanpur town of Banaskantha, collapsed.

In August 2024, a small bridge on the Bhogavo river connecting Habiyasar village with Chotila town in Surendranagar district collapsed after a sudden rise in water following discharge from an overflowing dam. No casualties were reported in the incident.