Vadodara, 9 July 2025:
A portion of the Gambhira Bridge on the Mahisagar River in Vadodara district collapsed at about 7.30 am near Padra Mujpur and four vehicles, two trucks and two vans were swept to the river. Four persons have been saved but later operations revealed nine bodies after the intensification of recovery operations.
Vadodara Collector Anil Dhameliya told that rescue teams, such as the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), municipal employees, police, etc., arrived in time to help and save people According to him, rescue operation began in the morning and they had so far retrieved nine bodies. Fived were injured and a sixth one who was injured was traced a few moments ago and he is undergoing medical treatment”.
The emergency teams also claimed that four individuals have been rescued out of their submerged cars. Search and rescue teams of Vadodara Municipal Corporation fire and the NDRF are trying the waters with boats and specialised diving teams. Those who were injured are taken to local hospitals where the conditions are being observed.
When contacted, State Minister Rushikesh Patel told PTI that the bridge was commissioned in the year 1985 and repairs were done on it over the years on a need basis i.e. periodically. He promised a technical investigation with a promise to say, that they will “investigate to the bottom the precise cause that led to the incident”.
The collapse has broken the important connection between Anand and Vadodara stalling the highway traffic. The traffic is being redirected through other directions and the authorities have given a warning to the drivers not to use the area until the safety audit is done.
There is a rise in the fear of public safety and demands are rising to undertake a thorough check of ageing infrastructure in all of Gujarat. This has also raised questions of maintenance procedures following similar collapse of bridges in the area in previous heavy rains.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel ordered allocations of technical professionals to review the status of the structures left intact and the urgent redo or renovation where that was the order of the day. He also provided some compensation measures through the disaster relief fund in the state of the families of the victims.
It will be investigated to see structural faults or errors in designs that caused the collapse. Due to unstable conditions under the water, they might carry on recovery operations even during the week. The government reiterates its stand in reconnecting and highlights the need of the safety of infrastructure to eliminate future tragedy associated with it.
