Fear of poisonous substance spreading after deadly bridge collapse in Brazil
Water is feared to be contaminated after a bridge collapsed in northern Brazil at the weekend, sending lorries carrying thousands of liters of pesticides and sulfuric acid into the river below.
Four people were killed and more than 10 are missing after the central span of a bridge linking the states of Tocantins and Maranhão collapsed on Sunday afternoon.
It is unclear how much or how much of the chemical leaked from their containers, but diving operations in the river have been halted until the situation can be assessed.
Dramatic video filmed by a local councilor who went to draw attention to cracks in the bridge shows the beginning of the collapse.
Councilor Elias Jr. said that when he was there he never thought that the bridge would actually collapse and that he was “in shock”.
Eight vehicles, including three lorries loaded with chemicals, fell into the river.
People in the towns of Estreito and Aiguiarnopolis on either side of the river have been asked to avoid collecting water from it.
Rescue operations are being conducted with boats. The fire service said four bodies had been recovered, including that of a female driver of a truck and an 11-year-old girl. One person was rescued alive from the water on Sunday.
The Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira Bridge – which is more than half a kilometer (1,600 ft) long – was built in the 1960s and is the main link between the two states across the Tocantins River.
