Toll in Vadodara bridge collapse rises to 15, Gujarat CM orders inquiry

The toll due to the bridge collapse in Vadodara rose to 15 on Thursday, reported PTI. Rescue operations are underway.

The collapse of the 43-year-old bridge on Wednesday morning led to at least five vehicles falling into the Mahisagar river.

Five persons have been rescued from the site till now, ANI quoted Surender Singh, commandant of the 6th Battalion of the National Disaster Response Force, as saying.

At least three persons are still missing, Vadodara Collector Anil Dhameliya told PTI.

Dhameliya said that several more are feared missing since the authorities do not have information about the occupants of a car and a pickup truck, which were among the vehicles that fell into the river.

Two trucks, an Eeco van, a pickup truck and an auto-rickshaw had fallen into the river on Wednesday.

Three members of a family – Ramesh Padhiyar, Vedika Padhiyar and Naitaik Padhiyar – are among those who died, The Indian Express reported. All of them were travelling in the Eeco van.

The newspaper quoted Sonal Padhiyar, the sole survivor from the vehicle, as saying: “We fell in a matter of seconds. Before we could even realise what happened, the vehicle had hit the water and was being pulled into the river.”

Three other victims of the bridge collapse have been identified as Hasmukh Parmar, Vakhatsinh Jadav and Pravin Jadav.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel ordered an inquiry by the Roads and Building Department into the collapse, The Indian Express reported.

The kin of those who died will receive Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund and Rs 4 lakh from the state government. Those injured will be given Rs 50,000 each from both the central and state funds.

Vadodara Superintendent of Police Rohan Anand has said that a case of accidental death has been registered and that the investigation will begin after the rescue operations end.

“We will also seek an inquiry report from the District Collector,” Anand told The Indian Express.

The collapse

The accident took place at about 7.30 am on Wednesday when a 10-metre to 15-metre long slab between two piers of the 900-metre Gambhira bridge, connecting Vadodara and Anand districts, collapsed. The bridge was inaugurated in 1985.

The bridge in the Padra taluka was a key connector between Central Gujarat and Saurashtra.

District Collector Anil Dhameliya said that the bridge had been repaired last year.