INDIA: Deadly Gambhira Bridge Collapse Kills 9 in Gujarat
A catastrophic collapse of Gujarat’s Gambhira Bridge has killed at least nine and injured six, raising urgent concerns over India’s aging infrastructure and triggering a government probe amid mounting public outrage.
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A catastrophic collapse of the Gambhira Bridge over the Mahisagar River in Gujarat’s Vadodara district has left at least nine dead and six injured, plunging vehicles into the swollen river below and exposing India’s chronic infrastructure woes. The 900-meter-long bridge, a vital link between Vadodara and Anand districts, gave way suddenly on Wednesday morning, sending trucks, vans, and an auto-rickshaw crashing into the water during peak traffic hours. As rescue teams scramble to save survivors and recover bodies, the tragedy has sparked public outrage, a government probe, and renewed scrutiny of the nation’s aging bridges.
The Collapse and Its Toll
The Gambhira Bridge, built in 1985 and spanning 23 piers, collapsed around 7:30 a.m. on July 9, when a slab between two piers gave way. At least five vehicles—two trucks, an Eeco van, a pickup van, and an auto-rickshaw—plunged into the Mahisagar River, swollen from recent heavy rainfall. Vadodara’s rural Superintendent of Police, Rohan Anand, confirmed nine fatalities, while Anand MP Mitesh Patel reported three bodies recovered and four people rescued by midday. District Collector Anil Dhameliya told *The Indian Express* that two motorcycles were also on the bridge, but their riders’ fates remain unclear as rescue efforts continue.
Visuals from the scene, shared widely on X, showed a tanker truck dangling precariously from the bridge’s edge, with villagers from nearby Mujpur joining National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams to aid in rescue operations. Cranes were deployed to retrieve submerged vehicles, but the river’s strong currents complicated efforts. At least 10 people were pulled from the water, with three to four in critical condition, according to *The Times of India*. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the loss “deeply saddening,” announcing Rs. 2 lakh ($2,400) for victims’ families and Rs. 50,000 ($600) for the injured.
A Pattern of Failure
The Gambhira collapse is the latest in a string of bridge failures that have plagued India, raising urgent questions about infrastructure maintenance. A 2020 study in *Structure and Infrastructure Engineering* documented 2,130 bridge collapses between 1977 and 2017, attributing 80.3% to natural disasters, 10.1% to material deterioration, and 3.28% to overloading. A government release from August 2024 noted 42 major and minor bridge collapses between 2019 and 2024, with 21 on national highways alone from 2021 to 2024.
Recent incidents underscore the crisis. In June 2025, an iron bridge over the Indrayani River in Pune’s Kundamala area collapsed, killing four and injuring 32, despite being flagged as one of 500 “danger-prone” sites by Maharashtra authorities. In October 2022, the Morbi bridge collapse in Gujarat claimed 135 lives, one of the deadliest in recent history. Earlier, on June 18, 2024, a bridge on the Bakra River in Bihar’s Araria district crumbled, highlighting shoddy construction. A week later, a temporary bamboo bridge in Cachar, Assam, collapsed under monsoon currents, stranding thousands.
Locals in Vadodara blamed the Gambhira collapse on neglected maintenance, alleging that repeated requests to repair the 40-year-old structure were ignored. Gujarat Minister Rushikesh Patel claimed regular upkeep was performed, but residents disputed this, pointing to the bridge’s dilapidated state. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel ordered a probe, dispatching technical experts to investigate the cause, with early speculation pointing to heavy rainfall and structural wear.
A National Reckoning
The collapse has disrupted connectivity between Vadodara and Anand, a key route for commuters and heavy transport, forcing traffic rerouting and economic losses. Secretary of the Roads and Buildings Department, PR Patelia, confirmed that engineers are assessing the damage, but the cause remains under investigation. Public anger, amplified on X, has fueled calls for a nationwide infrastructure audit. Posts like @CheKrishnaCk_’s, which sarcastically referenced the “Gujarat Model” of development.
India’s bridge collapses expose a deeper malaise: underfunded maintenance, lax oversight, and vulnerability to monsoon-driven disasters. The 2022 Morbi tragedy prompted promises of reform, yet the Gambhira incident suggests little has changed. With over 2,000 bridges failing in four decades, the government faces mounting pressure to prioritize safety over patchwork fixes. For the families of the nine victims and the rescuers still combing the Mahisagar River, the tragedy is a grim reminder of a nation’s crumbling lifelines.
Sources:*The Economic Times*, *Hindustan Times*, *The Indian Express*