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Survivors of a bridge collapse in India’s Gujarat state on Wednesday that killed at least 15 people have said that they initially thought it was an explosion or earthquake.<\/p>\n
The cause of the collapse is still to be ascertained, and investigations are under way according to state government officials.<\/p>\n
Anwarbhai, who was driving a van which had two other passengers, was on the bridge on Wednesday morning when he heard a deafening crack – a section of the bridge behind him had collapsed into the Mahisagar river, taking some vehicles along with it.<\/p>\n
“There was a huge explosion-like sound and part of the bridge collapsed behind us. Our van also started rolling backwards so we quickly jumped out,” he told BBC Gujarati.<\/p>\n
The 40-year-old bridge connected Vadodara district with central Gujarat and usually saw a lot of traffic.<\/p>\n
Dramatic visuals after the collapse showed a truck teetering dangerously from the edge of the broken bridge – it was later moved to safety. But other vehicles, including lorries, cars and a tuktuk, plunged into the water.<\/p>\n
At least four people are still missing and search operations are under way.<\/p>\n
“Our priority is to check the area quickly and retrieve both bodies and any survivors,” Surender Singh, an official with the National Disaster Response Force, told news agency ANI.<\/p>\n