Two people have died and up to 10 others including two children are said to be missing after a bridge collapse in Brazil. Seven vehicles including two motorbikes, three lorries and a car were on the bridge connecting the cities of Estreito and Aguiarnopolis over the Tocantins River when it plunged into the water.
The rescue operation was suspended last night as Civil Defence chiefs confirmed a tanker truck carrying sulphuric acid was among the vehicles that ended up in the river. An investigation was underway today into the collapse yesterday afternoon of the 1960s-built 1,750ft Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira Bridge.
A video shot moments before the collapse by a local councillor showed the moment it began to break up. Elias Junior filmed himself running to safety after honing in on cracks at the side of the road on the bridge structure before it ruptured in front of him as a pick-up 4x4 had to brake before continuing over the disintegrating tarmac.
The politician was recording the video with a friend to ask authorities to fix problems with the bridge which he said could no longer handle the heavy trucks passing over it. The pal could be overheard yelling: “Hey Elias, get out of there” as the first major cracks appeared on the road’s surface.
The politician said after cheating death in the scare: “If it hadn’t been for my friend of mine I maybe wouldn’t be here today. This bridge is over 60 years old and people were always complaining about how precarious it was. We went there to demand all the relevant authorities take action.".
