Gujarat Bridge Collapse Survivor Speaks: “I Kept Crying for Help” as Family Died

“I Kept Crying for Help” as Family Died: The Gambhira bridge which was in a dilapidated condition collapsed during peak hours. 5 people from the same village died when the van they were travelling in fell into the river.

The van was from Dariyapuram, Mujhpura village going to Bagdana in Bhavnagar district. A slab of the bridge fell and the car fell into the river and a woman who was sitting in the back of the car screamed for help to rescue her husband, son and others in the van.

"Save my son, save my family, take my child out of here", the woman Sonalben Ramesh Padhiyar screamed as the car fell 150 feet. She was sitting in the back of the car and managed to get out of the vehicle by breaking the glass. She was the only survivor from that van. She lost her husband and son in the tragedy.

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A viral video capturing Sonalben in a pink saree shows her profusely crying, seeking help from those near the accident site. "Maro dikro doobi gayo, Maro gharwalo doobi gayo… (My son has drowned, my husband has drowned)... please save them," Sonalben can be heard shouting, surrounded by vehicles involved in the tragic accident.

She is the only one from her family who survived the accident and her husband Ramesh Padhiyar (38), daughter Vedika (4) and son Naitik (2) were among those killed, reported PTI

An inconsolable Sonalben recalled how the tragedy unfolded and how she kept crying for help after it. In an even more horrifying development a truck fell on the vehicle Sonalben and her family was travelling in.

Detailing how the day began, Sonalben told news agency PTI, "We were headed to Bagdana in Bhavnagar to offer prayers. There were seven passengers in our van. We left at 6.30 am and reached the bridge around 7 am. When we were crossing it, a portion collapsed, causing many vehicles to plunge into the river."

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She said she survived the accident because she was sitting on the back side of the van but her husband and children died because a truck fell right on top of their vehicle.

"The water was also deep. I kept crying for help for nearly an hour, but no one came forward,” said Sonalben, a resident of Mujpur village in Padra taluka of Vadodara.

Sonalben also reportedly said no one came forward to help her as she sought help, with her family drowning. "I knew I had lost them, who would survive a car falling into Mahisagar? My grandson was the youngest, only two years old," an Indian Express report quoted her as saying.

However in the viral video of Sonalben the person recording from the bridge can be heard telling her that rescue teams are on their way.

At least 10 people died in the collapse of the Gambhira bridge which connects central Gujarat to Saurashtra region. The entire bridge slab between two piers collapsed and several vehicles fell into the river.

According to Gujarat Minister Rushikesh Patel the bridge was constructed in 1985 and its maintenance was done as and when required.

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