At least 18 people were confirmed dead after a span of the 900-metre Gambhira bridge on the Vadodara–Anand highway crumbled into the Mahisagar River on 9 July, sending five vehicles—including two trucks and an autorickshaw—plunging roughly 50 feet. Rescuers pulled nine survivors from the water, while cranes and boats continued to retrieve submerged vehicles through Thursday. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on 10 July ordered a high-level technical investigation and suspended four public-works officials for alleged negligence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences and announced ex-gratia payments of Rs 2 lakh to each victim’s family and Rs 50,000 for the injured; the state government separately offered Rs 4 lakh to next of kin. Built in 1985, the bridge had been flagged repeatedly by activists and local legislators for vibrations and visible deterioration. A Rs 212-crore replacement span had been sanctioned three months earlier, but repair work on the existing structure had not begun. The collapse has severed a key shortcut between south and central Gujarat, forcing commuters to detour up to 70 km and disrupting daily travel for workers in nearby industrial hubs. The disaster has renewed calls for an immediate audit of ageing infrastructure across the state, with engineers and civil-society groups urging the government to prioritise maintenance and transparent safety inspections of hundreds of similar bridges before the monsoon intensifies.