Death toll in Gambhira Bridge collapse rises to 17; rescue continues
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Ahmedabad: The death toll after the Gambhira Bridge collapsed in Gujarat’s Vadodara district climbed to 17 on July 10, following a tragic incident that occurred a day earlier.
The 40-year-old bridge gave way suddenly, causing several vehicles to plunge into the Mahisagar River and disrupting a vital route connecting Central Gujarat to the Saurashtra region.
The collapse reportedly took place as multiple vehicles, including two trucks, two pickup vans, a rickshaw, and several two-wheelers, were crossing the bridge. Within moments, the ageing structure crumbled, sending the vehicles into the river, which flows on both sides of the bridge.
Rescue efforts continued through the night, with over eight individuals pulled from the river. Officials have confirmed that 17 lives were lost in the incident.
Vadodara Collector Anil Dhameliya, who is on-site overseeing the rescue operations, stated that the confirmed toll had reached 15 at one point and emphasised that efforts to retrieve more bodies were ongoing, TNIE reported.
He mentioned that authorities had already recovered an Eeco car and a pickup van, and that heavy machinery was being deployed to extract the remaining vehicles, including the trucks. A technical team is also examining the structural failure to determine the cause of the collapse.
Following earlier updates from the Vadodara Collector, rescue teams recovered two more bodies later in the afternoon, raising the death toll in the Gambhira Bridge collapse to 17.
As operations stretched into July 10, the anguish among families waiting along the riverbank grew more intense. With four individuals still unaccounted for, many relatives—gripped by anxiety—remained on-site, hoping for any news.
Some family members have urged authorities to deploy Army personnel and helicopters to speed up the search, though no official confirmation has been given regarding such reinforcements.
Rescue and recovery efforts have involved over 10 agencies, including the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and the local fire department.
By Wednesday morning, three more bodies had been recovered from the river. Officials reported that two of them had been identified, while the identification process for the third is ongoing.
Authorities believe that several vehicles remain submerged, including three trucks, a rickshaw, an Eeco van, a pickup truck, and two to three motorcycles. There are also fears that another car may be lodged beneath one of the fallen trucks, complicating the recovery efforts further.
Beyond the immediate tragedy, the incident has triggered widespread concern about the condition and maintenance of public infrastructure in Gujarat.
The collapse of the four-decade-old bridge has sparked serious questions regarding oversight and safety protocols, even as the search for the missing continues amid growing public anger and heartbreak.