Gujarat bridge collapse: Death toll rises to 17, local legislator had warned of tragedy

Ahmedabad: The death toll in bridge collapse in Gujarat's Vadodara district climbed to 17 on Thursday after rescue teams recovered five more bodies from the river.

The search teams were looking for clues for at least two more persons who are reported to be missing.

On Wednesday morning, a portion of 40-year-old bridge collapsed with several vehicles including trucks and vans plunging into the Mahisagar river.

Officials said that a total of 17 dead bodies have been recovered while the vehicles were also being retrieved.

The bridge that connects Vaodara and Anand district as well as central Gujarat to the Saurashtra region.

Local sources said that the bridge was being used by heavy vehicles to evade toll booths on highways. The locals had alerted the officials on several occasions about the poor condition of the bridge.

Questioning the inaction of the government, the Gujarat Congress shared two letters written by its then legislator Jashalsinh Padhiyar to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. The letters warned of the deteriorating condition of the 40-year-old bridge and sought immediate action.

In 2022, Padhiyar, who was the Congress MLA from Padra, wrote letters addressed to the chief minister requesting to ban heavy vehicles using the bridge due to its poor condition. Despite these warnings, Congress claimed that the government didn't act.

Following the Morbi bridge collapse, Padhiyar sent another letter, reiterating the urgent need to construct a new bridge, warning that the current one was in a dilapidated state and could collapse at any moment. Congress alleges that despite repeated reminders, no steps were taken, leading to the tragedy.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat government order suspension of four officials including an executive Engineer, two deputy executive engineers and one assistant engineer of the Roads and Buildings Department. The government said that the decision was taken in view of a primary investigation.