Toll in Vadodara bridge collapse rises to 15, Gujarat CM orders inquiry

The toll due to the bridge collapse in Vadodara rose to 15 on Thursday, reported PTI. Rescue operations are underway.

The collapse of the 43-year-old bridge on Wednesday morning led to at least five vehicles falling into the Mahisagar river.

Five persons have been rescued from the site till now, ANI quoted Surender Singh, commandant of the 6th Battalion of the National Disaster Response Force, as saying.

At least three persons are still missing, Vadodara Collector Anil Dhameliya told PTI.

Dhameliya said that several more are feared missing since the authorities do not have information about the occupants of a car and a pickup truck, which were among the vehicles that fell into the river.

Two trucks, an Eeco van, a pickup truck and an auto-rickshaw had fallen into the river on Wednesday.

Three members of a family – Ramesh Padhiyar, Vedika Padhiyar and Naitaik Padhiyar – are among those who died, The Indian Express reported. All of them were travelling in the Eeco van.

The newspaper quoted Sonal Padhiyar, the sole survivor from the vehicle, as saying: “We fell in a matter of seconds. Before we could even realise what happened, the vehicle had hit the water and was being pulled into the river.”

Three other victims of the bridge collapse have been identified as Hasmukh Parmar, Vakhatsinh...

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