Toll rises to 17 day after Gujarat bridge collapse

The toll in Gambhira Bridge collapse over the Mahisagar River in Vadodara district of Gujarat has risen to 17 with three people missing, officials aware of the matter said, even as Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel on Thursday suspended four engineers of the state’s roads and buildings department.

- HT Correspondent

Five more bodies have been recovered since Wednesday when the official toll was 12.

“We have recovered 17 bodies so far. According to our list, three other people are missing. Five people have been rescued, and their condition is stable,” Vadodara district collector Anil Dhameliya said.

CM Patel, who handles the roads and buildings department, asked experts to prepare a report on the repairs, inspections and quality checks conducted at the bridge, and the decision to suspend the four engineers was taken on the basis of this report, a government release said.

Those suspended with immediate effect are executive engineer NM Nayakawala, deputy executive engineers UC Patel and RT Patel and assistant engineer JV Shah, the release added.