The search and rescue operation resumed in the Mahisagar river on Friday morning on the third day, as two persons are still missing following the Gambhira bridge tragedy in Gujarat’s Vadodara district, officials said. An official report that surfaced on Friday suggested that the death toll has now reached 19 with the retrieval of additional bodies and one of the injured persons succumbed to injuries at a hospital, officials said.
Several vehicles plunged into the river after a segment of the four-decade-old bridge, connecting Anand and Vadodara districts, collapsed near Gambhira village close to Padra town on Wednesday morning. The operation resumed on the third day of the Gambhira bridge tragedy, with 18 bodies recovered by Thursday night. Efforts are still underway to trace two more persons, who are missing, Vadodara Collector Anil Dhameliya said.
The main task of our operation today is to retrieve a body stuck under a slab in the river, and the driver missing of a truck stranded in water," he informed mediapersons. On Thursday, a list of eight missing persons was made, and six of them were retrieved dead, he added.
The rescue mission is being conducted by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and other entities, with locals assisting them.
Also read: Gujarat bridge collapse: Ignored warning cost 16 lives
The rescue team continues working despite difficulties, such as muddy ground, unstable release of soda ash in water and a tanker loaded with highly corrosive material, Dhameliya said.
A tanker that had slipped into the river contained sulphuric acid, and all precautions are being taken so that it does not leak, he added.
There is also a presence of soda ash in the water, which is irritating and itching the rescuers. Efforts are being made to neutralise it, said the official.
The mud on the banks of the river and in the river has also made the rescue operation difficult, said Dhameliya.
As a few of the vehicles, including a truck loaded with goods, are still stranded in the river mud, the district administration had employed a 'high-performance truck' of the Indian Army to drag them out, a government release stated earlier.
For pulling over the issue of the mud, a temporary platform has been made ready on the riverbank for the rescue units by placing three truckloads of concrete mix, the release stated.
On Thursday, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel suspended four state roads and buildings department engineers in connection with the bridge collapse.
A minimum of six major bridge collapse incidents have occurred in Gujarat since 2021. A slab collapsed at the Mumatpura flyover being built on the outskirts of Ahmedabad city in December 2021. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the accident.
In October 2022, up to 135 individuals were reported dead after a suspension bridge built in British times across the Machchhu river in Morbi town collapsed, when more than 200 tourists were on the bridge.
A new bridge across the Mindhola river in the Tapi district collapsed in June 2023. There were no casualties in the mishap.
Four people were injured in September 2023 when part of an ancient bridge over the Bhogavo river in Surendranagar district collapsed when a 40-tonne dumper was crossing it near Wadhwan city.
Two people in an autorickshaw were killed in October 2023 after six concrete girders or slabs, which were fitted upon pillars of an under-construction bridge near the RTO Circle in Palanpur town of Banaskantha, collapsed.
In August 2024, a small bridge over the Bhogavo river between Habiyasar village and Chotila town in Surendranagar district gave way after an unexpected increase in water level following discharge from an overflowing dam. There were no casualties in the incident.
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