9 persons killed as vehicles fall into river after bridge collapse in Vadodara
Vadodara (PTI): Nine persons, including a child, were killed and nine others rescued after a portion of a four-decade-old bridge collapsed in Gujarat's Vadodara district on Wednesday morning, officials said.
A slab of the Gambhira bridge, located on Mahisagar river which connects central Gujarat to the Saurashtra region of the state, collapsed, killing nine persons, Superintendent of Police (Vadodara rural) Rohan Anand said.
The bridge was located near Padra town in the district.
"According to the details available, around nine persons have died and another nine persons have been rescued, out of whom five have been referred to the SSG Hospital in Vadodara. None of the rescued persons is in critical condition. The rescue operation is still going on," Anand said.
He said 10 to 15 metres long slab of the bridge collapsed at around 7.30 am.
Five vehicles -- two trucks, two vans and an autorickshaw -- fell into the river after the bridge collapsed, Vadodara Collector Anil Dhameliya said.
Two other vehicles that came dangerously close to falling were dragged away to a safer location, the collector said.
Three persons on a two-wheeler, which fell into the river, managed to swim to safety, he added.
The nine persons killed in the bridge collapse included a child, Padra police inspector Vijay Charan said.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel Patel expressed grief over the tragedy and said an order has been given to the state's roads and buildings department to conduct a probe into the collapse and submit a report.
In a post on X, he said teams of the state roads and buildings department and private engineers specialising in bridge construction have been instructed to immediately reach the spot and conduct a preliminary investigation into the causes of the collapse and other technical matters, and submit a report.
"The fire brigade team of the local municipality and Vadodara Municipal Corporation are working with boats and swimmers at the accident site as part of the rescue and relief operations. The NDRF team has also reached the scene and joined the rescue operation," the CM said.
Gujarat minister Rushikesh Patel said the bridge was constructed in 1985, and its maintenance was carried out periodically as and when required. "The exact reason behind the incident will be probed," he said.
Visuals showed the entire slab of the bridge between two piers having collapsed. The slab collapse caused the vehicles, which were passing through it, to plunge into the river.
Teams from Vadodara fire department and locals joined the rescue operation, an official said.
The nearly 900-metre-long Gambhira bridge has 23 piers and connects Vadodara and Anand districts of Gujarat. It was inaugurated in 1985.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
