The search operation to trace a man still missing after a bridge collapse that killed 20 people continued in the Mahisagar River in Gujarat’s Vadodara district on Sunday, officials said.
Efforts are underway to locate Vikram Padhiyar, 22, a resident of Narsinghpur village in Anand district and an employee of a private company, they said.
Several vehicles had plunged into the Mahisagar River after a section of the 40-year-old bridge near Gambhira village, connecting Anand and Vadodara districts, collapsed on Wednesday.
A search for Padhiyar on Saturday yielded no results, and attempts were ongoing to trace him both upstream and downstream of the river, an official from the Vadodara district administration said.
Rescue teams are carrying out searches using rubber boats and other necessary equipment, and wreckage of the small vehicles involved has also been salvaged.
“Near Mujpur village, where this incident took place, the Mahisagar River flows in both directions. During high tide, the water flows towards the Wahara creek, and during low tide, it flows towards the sea. Hence, searches are being conducted in both directions, upstream and downstream,” the official said.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and other agencies are involved in the ongoing search.
Efforts are also being made to ascertain whether anyone other than Padhiyar was trapped under the large concrete slab that collapsed into the river, the official said.
Teams from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and the Regional Transport Office (RTO) inspected the site on Saturday to aid the police investigation.
Following the collapse, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel suspended four engineers from the state’s Roads and Buildings Department.
State Minister Rushikesh Patel said that a high-level probe committee of the Roads and Buildings Department will submit a detailed report within 30 days.
Out of the 7,000 bridges surveyed in Gujarat, the government has identified those requiring repairs or full reconstruction, he added.
Gujarat has recorded six bridge collapse incidents since 2021.
In December 2021, a slab collapsed during construction of the Mumatpura flyover on the outskirts of Ahmedabad city, though no one was injured.
In October 2022, 135 people died when a British-era suspension bridge over the Machchhu River in Morbi town collapsed.
In June 2023, a newly built bridge over the Mindhola River in the Tapi district collapsed. No injuries were reported in that incident.
In September 2023, four people were injured when a section of an old bridge over the Bhogavo River in Surendranagar district collapsed as a 40-tonne dumper was crossing it near Wadhwan city.
In October 2023, two people in an autorickshaw died after six concrete girders installed on the pillars of an under-construction bridge near the RTO Circle in Palanpur town of Banaskantha district collapsed.
In August 2024, a small bridge over the Bhogavo River, connecting Habiyasar village with Chotila town in Surendranagar district, collapsed following a sudden rise in water due to discharge from an overflowing dam. No casualties were reported in that incident.
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