Four good size under-construction ships of ABG shipyard drowned in the waters of River Tapi after their anchors snapped, setting them adrift in open waters and collided with Surat’s Magdalla-Hazira bridge on Tuesday night at around 3:00 a.m. The bridge faced major damage which was initially estimated to roughly Rs.1 crore. No casualties were reported in the incident.

The bridge was immediately closed for the traffic. Long queues of trucks on Surat side of the bridge could be seen. Many industries located near the bridge faced terrific trouble due to this.

Fire brigade was continuously working in large strength to pull the ships out of the bridge.

District Collector Dilip Raval said that his officials are looking into the cause of the incident which could have been the result of high-tide on Tuesday, because of which the anchors might have snapped.

The stability of the bridge was being checked by the authorities. A team of structural engineers and technical experts examined the bridge. 100 meter railings of the bridge has damaged after being hit by four ships. The footpath has also suffered damage.