The death count in the Gambhira Bridge collapse incident in Gujarat rose to 15 after two more bodies were recovered on Thursday. The 40-year-old bridge in Vadodara district collapsed on Wednesday morning, resulting in five vehicles plunging into the Mahisagar River. Four people are still missing while nine others were rescued after a large section of the bridge, located near Padra town, suddenly collapsed.
Visuals from the site showed the entire chunk of the slab of the bridge between two piers missing. The incident has once again raised serious concerns about the state’s ageing infrastructure and lapses in maintenance.
This is not an isolated incident. In the past five years alone, more than 12 bridges across Gujarat have either collapsed or suffered major structural damage, raising serious concerns.
12 BRIDGE FAILURES IN FIVE YEARS
- January 24, 2020: The bridge over the Khari River in Mehsana was declared unsafe.
- December 21, 2021: A portion of the Mumtazpura bridge in Ahmedabad collapsed.
- October 30, 2022: The bridge over the Machhu River in Morbi collapsed.
- In 2022: The Hatkeshwar bridge in Ahmedabad was closed after a stability report.
- October 23, 2023: A portion of an under-construction bridge in Palanpur collapsed.
- February 14, 2024: A part of the bridge connecting Visnagar in Mehsana sank.
- July 30, 2024: A metro bridge in Saroli, Surat was damaged and tilted.
- August 26, 2024: The Halvad bridge in Morbi collapsed.
- August 27, 2024: A bridge in Chotila, Surendranagar collapsed due to rain.
- November 5, 2024: A part of a bullet train bridge under construction in Anand collapsed.
- June 2025: A bridge over the Pataliya River in Botad was damaged due to rain.
- July 9, 2025: The Gambhira bridge between Vadodara and Anand collapsed.
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