Vadodara, Jul 9 (PTI) Three persons were killed and five others rescued after several vehicles fell into a river when the portion of a four-decade-old bridge collapsed in Gujarat’s Vadodara district on Wednesday morning, officials said. Five to six vehicles fell into the Mahisagar river after a slab of the Gambhira bridge, located on the river which connects central Gujarat and Saurashtra regions of the state, collapsed, Gujarat’s Health Minister Rushikesh Patel said. “Three persons have died and five others have been rescued,” Patel told mediapersons. He said the bridge was constructed in 1985, and its maintenance was carried out periodically as and when required. “The exact reason behind the incident will be probed,” the minister said. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has directed technical experts to reach the site and conduct a probe into the reason for the collapse, he said. Visuals showed the entire slab of the bridge between two piers having collapsed. The incident occurred at around 7.30 am, and the vehicles, including two trucks and two vans, fell into the river, Padra police inspector Vijay Charan earlier said. Teams from the Vadodara fire department and locals joined the rescue operation which was still on, an official said. A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) also left for the incident site with rescue equipment, the official said. The 900-metre-long Gambhira bridge has 23 piers and connects Vadodara and Anand districts of Gujarat. It was inaugurated in 1985. PTI COR KA PD GK