Vadodara Bridge Collapse: Trucks buried in 10 feet slush; more bodies feared trapped, toll climbs to 18 | Vadodara News

VADODARA: The death toll in the Gambhira bridge collapse near Vadodara rose to 18 on Thursday, with rescuers retrieving five more bodies from the Mahi river in Padra taluka. Two people are still missing, and 10 teams from the Vadodara fire brigade and NDRF are involved in the search operation, which was expected to continue until late at night.Four victims were found stuck in the riverbed under the truck that fell off the bridge, while the body of another was found around five kilometres away in the river near Dabka village. The deceased were identified as Yogesh Chauhan, a native of Bharuch, and Atul Rathod, Bhupendra Parmar, Dilip Padhiyar and Yogesh Patel, all from Anand district. District collector Anil Dhameliya said they are trying to trace a car and a truck that are missing and may possibly be stuck in the mud on the riverbed. “The vehicles that fell off the bridge are stuck in the muck, and our teams are trying to remove them.” One day after the collapse of the Gambhira Bridge over the Mahi in Padra taluka, rescue teams were struggling to remove vehicles that fell into the river. District collector Anil Dhameliya said recovery operations were hindered by the thick mud in the riverbed. “The mud is about 10 feet deep at the spot where the vehicles fell into the river. We are trying to reach the vehicles and get them out. An improvised bridge has been made in the river for recovery operations,” Dhameliya said. On Thursday evening, two Army trucks were brought to the spot to pull out a truck that fell into the river.The authorities say two vehicles, including a truck, are stuck in the mud under one large truck. Cranes are unable to reach the spot due to the mud, and trying to pull the truck from the damaged bridge would be too risky. Dhameliya said on Thursday afternoon that the recovery operation would continue for some hours. “It is likely a few more bodies are in the vehicles that are stuck in the mud,” an official said. Another danger is the empty tanker dangling on the collapsed end of the bridge. Even a slight disturbance could cause the tanker to fall 50 feet into the river below and further delay recovery operations. The authorities said they have stabilized the tanker, and it will be pulled away once the search for the victims ends.