On Saturday, April 6, 2019, a ferryboat hit a bridge located into the Moju River on the state of Para, in Brazil, which partially collapsed.
The incident has caused severe issues as the bridge was part of a highway that leads to Belém, one of the busiest ports in the country.
According to some witnesses, two vehicles fell into the river when the ship crashed into the bridge. Scuba divers are scanning the area to rescue them. Still, the number of the victims is unknown. Fortunately, the crew of the ship survived. "Our priority is searching for victims and giving complete support to their families," Helder Barbalho, governor of Pará, stated.
Officials are now working to clean the river from the rubble. Until the 860-meter collapsed part of the bridge is restored, people will be transported to the other side of the river by special vessels. Repair works will last for about a year and will cost about $25 million. According to Mr. Barbalho, warning signs will be installed on the pillars of other bridges to prevent similar incidents soon.
The bridge was inspected on January, 2019, and some corrosion issues were found on its pillars. Officials requested an emergency fund to fix the problem but they did not consider the situation severe enough to close the highway.
The incident is not unprecedented. In 2014, a boat hit another bridge nearby triggering a partial collapse.
Police is now working to find out whether the ferry was officially registered.
Sources: BBC.com, Independent.ie
A new design will be implemented to the bridge that will replace the structure which dramatically co...
A bridge located near Savona, north Italy, was swept away by a landslide on November 24, 2019. The...
A bridge used by the U.S. Norfolk Southern Railway collapsed into Missouri's Grand River. Norfol...
A motorway bridge under construction collapsed in central Colombia on Monday, January 15, killing at...
The historic bridge of Keritis, located near the city of Chania in the Greek island of Crete, collap...
Montreal's Champlain Bridge is one of North America's busiest spans, with 50 million vehicles crossi...
A part of a road and a bridge were completely destroyed after being hit by extreme floods and a cli...
Bentley Systems announced the immediate availability of LEAP Bridge Steel for the 3D modeling, desi...
On Sunday, October 16th, a small suspension bridge collapsed killing 8 and injuring several more in...