Under-construction bridge collapses in Gujarat, 2 people crushed to death

“The incident happened around 3 pm when the girders fell. A rickshaw was stationed below the under-construction bridge and as the girders toppled, two persons – including one sitting in the rickshaw – died. We have sent their bodies for postmortem to Palanpur Civil Hospital,” Palanpur East Police Inspector S K Parmar said.

The two deceased have been identified as Ajay Shrimali (30) and Mayur Parmar (20). An official statement from the Chief Minister’s Office stated that the CM has taken serious note of the accident and ordered three senior engineers – Superintending Engineer of R&B’s Quality Control, Superintending Engineer of Design Circle and Superintending Engineer of Gujarat Engineering Research Institute – to reach the spot immediately to ascertain the primary reasons behind the collapse.

According to R&B Department Secretary Ashok Patel, a Railway Over Bridge is being constructed by the state government’s National Highway division at the site. “This is a railway overbridge connecting Ambaji with Palanpur. Though the construction of the bridge has been going on for some time, the girders that collapsed were launched on the pillars a week back, but had not been tied to the structure as yet,” Banaskantha Collector Varunkumar Baranwal said.

Sources said the contract to build the bridge worth Rs 89 crore was given to GP Chaudhary Infrastructure, a private firm, in 2021. “A total of six girders of the under-construction bridge collapsed. There could be some defect, but the exact reason behind the accident will be known after a team of our senior engineers visit the spot (and submit its report),” Ashok Patel said.

“Experts told me that it has happened due to a mechanical failure in launching the girders. Still, a Quality Control team of R&B is coming from Gandhinagar. Once they are through it, we will get to know more about what exactly happened,” Baranwal told The Indian Express.