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NDTV
4 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Gujarat Bridge Collapse Death Count Now 15, Rescue Teams Tackle 3-Metre Mud
Ahmedabad: The death count in the Gambhira bridge collapse in Gujarat's Vadodara district has climbed to 15, and three people are still missing. Disaster response teams are conducting the rescue operation and two more vehicles are likely in the river. Sharing the updates about the rescue operation, District Collector Anil Dhameliya said, "The death count is now 15 and three people are missing." The Collector said two more vehicles are likely in the river. These likely include a car and a truck. "If you have any information about a missing person, share it with our control room so that it aids the rescue work," he said. The Collector said deep mud, about three metres deep, is disrupting rescue work and a makeshift bridge is being prepared to aid rescue workers. Rescue workers are also battling heavy rain in the area. Multiple vehicles, including trucks, fell into the Mahisagar river early yesterday after the 40-year-old Gambhira bridge connecting Vadodara and Anand districts gave way. As a stretch of the bridge collapsed, several vehicles passing through fell into the river. With the bridge tragedy raising questions of administrative apathy, the Bhupendra Patel-led BJP government in Gujarat has ordered an investigation into the factors behind the incident. The probe team visited the site this morning. A team from the Gujarat Pollution Control Board also visited the spot because one of the tankers that fell into the river was carrying chemicals. The Gambhira bridge, built in 1985, was a disaster waiting to happen. Local residents have said it shook dangerously when vehicles crossed it. Following a recommendation from local BJP MLA Chaitanyasinh Zala, the state government approved the construction of a new bridge. A survey was conducted and plans to build the new bridge were afoot. The Gambhira bridge was repaired and kept open to traffic. Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday said the loss of lives in the Gujarat tragedy is "deeply saddening". "Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon. An ex gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs 50,000," the Prime Minister's Office said on X. The Gujarat Chief Minister has separately announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the families of each person who died in the accident. "Additionally, each person injured in the accident will receive assistance of 50,000 rupees, and all treatment arrangements will also be provided by the state government," he said. Targeting the state government over the incident, the Opposition Congress has said it reflects the "corruption and decay behind the Gujarat Model". "In this accident, several vehicles fell into the river, resulting in tragic deaths and injuries. The Congress family expresses deep condolences and prays for the speedy recovery of the injured," the Congress said in a social media post. The party also alleged "rampant corruption" in the state's infrastructure projects.
India Today
4 days ago
- General
- India Today
Collapsed Vadodara bridge was a disaster-in-waiting: What such recurring mishaps in Gujarat tell
Imagine you are driving on a bridge over a river and just like that, it breaks apart in the middle and vehicles fall into the water hundreds of feet below. Ten people died on the morning of July 9 when the Gambhira bridge near Padra, a vital km-long lifeline connecting Vadodara and Anand districts over Gujarat's Mahisagar river, crumbled under the weight of 7:30 am, a 10-15-metre-long concrete slab of the bridge, between two of its 23 piers, gave way during peak traffic, sending three trucks, two utility vans, a rickshaw, one pickup van and two motorbikes plunging into the river. An oil tanker hung precariously at the collapsed bridge end, just about averting a tragedy left five people injured and reignited concern and allegations about the state of crumbling infrastructure and systemic governance failures in bridge, inaugurated in 1985, was a critical artery linking central Gujarat to Saurashtra, facilitating the movement of goods and commuters. Local people had long sounded alarm about its deteriorating condition, reporting vibrations when vehicles crossed and visible structural decay. Local media spoke to fisherman Narendra Mali, working near the bridge on the morning of the collapse. He described a chilling scene: a loud cracking noise followed by vehicles plummeting one after another into the Mahisagar. 'We turned our boats towards the vehicles and started efforts to rescue people,' Mali recounted. But most passengers could not be operations were swift but harrowing. More than 20 fire personnel, a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and another from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), two fire boats, three fire tenders, more than 10 ambulances and over five medical teams reached the site for relief and rescue. They used boats and divers to pull survivors from the were deployed to retrieve submerged vehicles while authorities cordoned off the area to prevent further accidents. Vadodara collector Anil Dhameliya confirmed nine bodies had been recovered. One of the injured died within a few hours, taking the toll to 10. The collapse sparked sharp criticism from leaders of Opposition parties, who pointed to systemic neglect and corruption. Amit Chavda, who is the leader of the Congress legislative party in Gujarat, demanded accountability. 'We had demanded from the government [in 2017] that the bridge be closed to heavy vehicles due to its deteriorating condition,' he charged on social Congress, in a broader statement, described the incident as a reflection of 'corruption and decay behind the Gujarat Model', alleging rampant mismanagement in infrastructure projects. Despite warnings from local people and past demands from the Congress to restrict heavy vehicles, the bridge remained operational without significant BJP government's claim of periodic maintenance, as stated by health minister Rushikesh Patel, rings hollow against residents' accounts of ignored Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal demanded answers from the BJP. 'Will the BJP, which has been in power in Gujarat for the last 30 years, explain how such shoddy and life-threatening bridges keep getting built in Gujarat, which collapse so easily? The common people have to pay the price of this negligence and corruption, protected by those in power, with their lives,' he posted on social has had a troubling history of bridge failures, underscoring a pattern of inadequate maintenance and oversight. The collapse of the Morbi pedestrian bridge on October 30, 2022, a month before assembly elections, had killed 135 people and injured 56. The bridge, renovated by clock-making firm Orpat, had reopened without a clearance certificate from the local authorities, which had raised serious allegations about corruption and government oversight. The Gujarat government's response—prompt rescue and compensation—however lacked a clear commitment to systemic October 2023, two people died when a section of an under-construction railway overbridge collapsed in Palanpur town in Banaskantha district. In June 2023, a portion of a ready-to-inaugurate bridge over Mindhola river in Tapi district in south Gujarat collapsed, reporting no loss of life but sending shockwaves as it was to open for vehicular traffic September that year, one person was killed and at least a dozen others were injured after a concrete slab that covered a drain channel caved in when a crowd had gathered for darshan at a Ganesh pandal nearby. Twenty people fell into the drain. The incident created a scare in the city during festive August, a bridge over the Bhogavo river collapsed, and in November, a temporary structure at the bullet train project site in Anand collapsed, killing two people. Incidents like these collapses with fewer deaths should act as a stern wake-up call of the close shave and the catastrophe that could have been. Even as investigations and cases drag on in courts, administrative accountability is not fixed. Subscribe to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch
The Star
4 days ago
- The Star
At least nine dead after Gujarat bridge collapses, plunging vehicles into river
Rescuers searching for survivors after a bridge collapsed in the western state of Gujarat on July 9, 2025. - Photo: Reuters NEW DELHI: At least nine people were killed and several others injured after a portion of the Gambhira bridge in Padra town in Gujarat state in western India collapsed on Wednesday (July 9). A truck and several cars plunged into the Mahisagar river. Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi told reporters nine bodies had been recovered and six people rescued. He said Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has ordered public works teams 'to go there and take concrete measures'. Cabinet Minister Rushikesh Patel, a civil engineer, said the bridge was built in 1985 and had undergone regular maintenance and repairs. Reacting to the accident, the opposition Congress party alleged in a post on X that the bridge collapse 'exposes the rampant corruption carried out in the name of the 'Gujarat Model''. In 2022, more than 140 people were killed after a cable suspension bridge in Gujarat's Morbi city collapsed days after its renovation. Photo: IANS Union Home Minister on Wednesday expressed grief and sorrow over the Gambhira bridge collapse in Vadodara district of Gujarat, in which nine people were killed and several others injured. In a social media post, the minister said that the NDRF personnel have already begun relief and rescue work at the accident site. 'The accident that occurred in Vadodara district of Gujarat is very tragic. The NDRF team has reached the accident site and is engaged in relief and rescue operations, and all possible assistance is being provided to the victims. My condolences are with those who have lost their loved ones in this accident. I pray to God for the speedy recovery of the injured,' Shah said in the post on X. Vadodara Superintendent of Police (SP) Rohan Anand confirmed the death of nine people, and said injured were being given medical treatment at the nearby hospitals. The police officer told media persons that a 10-15 metre slab in the middle of the bridge had collapsed. Two trucks, as many pickup vans, and a rickshaw fell into the river while two vehicles remained stranded on the broken bridge, he added. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of the deceased in the bridge collapse. The injured would get Rs 50,000. PM Modi also paid condolences to the families of the deceased. - The Statesman/ANN
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
‘Act of God or fraud?': Opposition slams Gujarat's BJP govt as Vadodara bridge collapse kills 10
Several opposition leaders have lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party after a portion of a bridge in Vadodara's Padra, over the Mahisagar River, collapsed on Wednesday morning, killing at least 10 people. Officials feared that the death toll could rise as the rescue and search operations in the Mahisagar River continued. (AP) Officials said five vehicles, including two trucks, an SUV, a pickup van, and an auto-rickshaw, fell into the river. They feared the death toll could rise as the rescue and search operations continued. The Congress termed the collapse of the Gambhira Bridge portion a "tragic incident" and expressed condolences to the victims. The party claimed that the people of the district had been consistently complaining about the bridge, saying that it "was shaking and would collapse", urging action on the matter. "Before the accident, a lot of money was spent to repair the bridge, but it still collapsed," it added. The grand old party went to accuse the BJP in Gujarat of taking a pay-cut commission from any contractor before they get a work order. "This is why contractors do not do their work properly. In the past few months, such incidents have occurred in Gujarat, for which BJP's corruption is responsible," the party added. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi expressed heartfelt condolences to the victims of the accident. She hoped that "people of Gujarat will protest against such shoddy work and hold the government as well as contracted agencies accountable for this". The Trinamool Congress, taking note of the bridge collapse in Gujarat's Vadodara, said the incident came barely two years after the horrific Morbi bridge collapse. "Now that such tragedies are recurring in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, we have a question for the Photo-Op PM: Is this an Act of God, or an ACT OF FRAUD?" the Mamata Banerjee-led party asked. The TMC further said that they won't wait for an answer "because he's too busy gallivanting abroad, doing dance drills and PR stunts in Namibia on public money". TMC leader Mahua Moitra said that no action has been taken for bridge and road collapses, trains collisions, derailments in Gujarat. "But BJP state governments obsessed with eatery names on Kanwariya routes and locking up legitimate Bengali workers," she added. Congress leader Supriya Shrinate also took a jibe at the BJP administration in Gujarat. While expressing condolences to the affected families, she also said that the "hollow 'Gujarat Model' is another name for corruption". Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the incident is "deeply saddening" and expressed condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. He also announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased from PM National Relief Fund. An ex-gratia of ₹50,000 will be given to those injured in the incident.
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
At least 9 dead after Gujarat bridge collapses, plunging vehicles into river
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Rescuers searching for survivors after a bridge collapsed in the western state of Gujarat on July 9. NEW DELHI – At least nine people were killed and several others injured after a portion of the Gambhira bridge in Padra town in Gujarat state in western India collapsed on July 9. A truck and several cars plunged into the Mahisagar river. Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi told reporters nine bodies had been recovered and six people rescued. He said Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has ordered public works teams 'to go there and take concrete measures'. Cabinet Minister Rushikesh Patel, a civil engineer, said the bridge was built in 1985 and had undergone regular maintenance and repairs. Reacting to the accident, the opposition Congress party alleged in a post on X that the bridge collapse 'exposes the rampant corruption carried out in the name of the 'Gujarat Model''. In 2022, more than 140 people were killed after a cable suspension bridge in Gujarat's Morbi city collapsed days after its renovation. THE STATESMAN/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
