2 killed, 5 rescued as multiple vehicles plunge into river after bridge collapses in Gujarat’s Vadodara

At least two people were killed, and five others were rescued after multiple vehicles fell into the Mahisagar River when a dilapidated bridge in Gujarat’s Vadodara district collapsed early Wednesday.

Located in Mujpur in Padra taluka of the Vadodara district, the bridge connected Mujpur to Gambhira in Anand district as well as Central Gujarat to Saurashtra.

Videos of the bridge collapse show a tanker dangling precariously from the broken bridge even as a woman trapped in the river is heard crying for help for her son, seemingly trapped in the overturned Eeco van in the water.

Anil Dhameliya, District Collector, Vadodara, told, “We have rescued five people with simple injuries, and two have been confirmed dead. While the rescue operation is on, as of now, we know that two trucks, an Eeco van, a pickup van, and an auto-rickshaw plunged into the river when a portion of the bridge gave way suddenly.”

Vadodara district fire and emergency team, as well as the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), were rushed to the spot to carry out rescue operations. NDRF’s Vadodara 6BN unit said it had dispatched a team to the accident site along with deep water dives to assist in the rescue operation.

“It is not the deepest part of the river, and rescue is being undertaken. There were two motorcycles on the bridge at the time as well, but so far, we have no confirmation whether they also plunged into the river. We are yet to ascertain the identities of the people as we are focusing on the rescue work,” Dhameliya added.

The injured have been taken to the local hospital in Vadodara district. Dhameliya added that of the five rescued people, four had sustained non-grievous injuries, and escaped with ‘minor injuries’.

Dhameliya added that the bridge, which is 43 years old, had been repaired last year. “The executive engineers of the Road and Bridges Department are on their way to the spot. We will examine the details of the bridge once the rescue work is completed,” he added.

Praveen Chaudhary, District Collector, Anand, told The Indian Express that while the Vadodara district was carrying out the rescue operation, they had deployed three fire tenders for assistance at the spot. “The Anand district administration and the district police are on the spot in order to manage the events on the other side of the bridge and to lend assistance if needed.”

Anklav Congress MLA Amit Chavda posted on X, “Several vehicles have fallen into the river and big casualties are feared… The government administration must undertake immediate rescue and divert traffic accordingly.”