Spectacular road bridge demolition in Colombia

A road bridge under construction has been demolished after a partial collapse earlier in the year killed nine people.

The dramatic event occurred in January and the construction was postponed in order to investigate the causes of the failure. A report said the collapse was the result of faults in the design and the demolition of the remaining part was taken as a security measure. Construction officials said that fortunately not many workers were on the bridge at the time of the collapse as staff was receiving a safety briefing. One of the workers injured in the collapse described the moment it happened. "Everyone started shouting that the bridge was falling, I didn't have time to do anything and then I felt a blow to my head," Luis Alvarado told El Tiempo newspaper.

The unfinished bridge, located in Chirajara on the border of Cundinamarca and Meta provinces, was to be part of the highway that connects the capital Bogota and the city of Villavicencio. Had it been completed, it would have spanned 446 metres over the canyon, which is 286 metres deep. Demolition experts used 100kg of plastic explosives and 30 detonation devices to cause the massive implosion.

 Sources: Independent.co.uk, bbc.com