Vadodara bridge collapse death toll rises to 18, search on for 2 missing persons; mud ramp built to help cranes retrieve vehicles

Meanwhile, the district administration built a temporary mud ramp on the river to enable the cranes to move closer to the vehicles that continue to remain submerged in the river.

Another crane has been deployed on the top of the bridge to help fish out the vehicles.

Vadodara Superintendent of Police (SP), Rohan Anand, told The Indian Express, “The makeshift ramp is being created to allow the crane to be able to retrieve the vehicles, especially the trucks that fell into the water.. The distance (of the spot where the vehicles fell) is about 40 metres from the riverbank and the heavy cranes need some ground underneath to be able to pull out the vehicles.”

On Thursday evening, Anand confirmed that the death toll had touched 17, and that the rescue teams were looking for three more missing persons. Later in the night, district administration confirmed that the toll had risen to 18 with the recovery of one more body.

Anand said, “During the rescue on Wednesday, we also found three other motorcycles and a private car inside the river. We do not know if the vehicles fell along with the passengers or if the persons travelling on the vehicles were able to escape as in the case of three persons of the pick-up van that had plunged…”

On Wednesday, The Indian Express had reported about Borsad resident Anwar Mohammad, who, along with two other men he was travelling with, managed to abandon their pick-up van in the nick of time.

SP Anand said, “More bodies might be found later. There is no certain number…”

The 18 deceased have been identified as Ramesh Padhiyar (45), Vedika Padhiyar (4), Naitik Padhiyar (2), Vakhatsinh Jadav (47), Hasmukh Parmar (50), Pravin Jadav (25), Rajesh Chavda (22), Kanjibhai Machchi (40), Jashu Harijan (60), Parvat Vagadiya (20), Meraman Hathiya (51), Vishnu Raval (28), Mohan Chavda (52), Bhupendrasinh Parmar (42), Atul Rathod (22), Yogesh Mahendra Chauhan (20), Yogesh Prakash Patel (30) and Dilip Padhiyar (26). The five injured persons include Narendrasinh Parmar (45), Ganpatsinh Rajput (40), Raju Hathiya (23), 34-year-old Dilip Padhiyar (not to be confused with deceased by the same name), and Sonal Padhiyar (45).

Resident Medical Officer (RMO) of SSG hospital, Dr Hitendra Chauhan, told The Indian Express that of the five injured persons admitted to the hospital, Sonal Padhiyar was discharged on Thursday while two others underwent surgeries in the orthopaedic department for fractures. Chauhan said, “A total of five injured persons were brought to SSG hospital. One patient has been discharged and four are currently admitted. An operation has been performed on an injured person for his hip fracture and another person has a surgery lined up for a fracture in the hand. One other injured person has knee swelling and detailed investigations are being undertaken to examine his case in the ortho department. The last injured person is in the surgery department and is stable.”

On Thursday evening, with help of heavy duty cranes, the district administration removed the vehicles, including the trucks from the water and brought them to the river bank.

An official of the district administration told The Indian Express that the rescue operations were paused at midnight as the river currents had become stronger. “The operations went on until about midnight on Wednesday evening… Thereafter, it was paused and resumed Thursday morning. Bodies of 10 deceased persons were handed over to their families on Wednesday evening. Three other bodies are being handed over (as on Thursday morning),” an official said.