BRAZIL: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - Engineers inspect collapsed bridge in World Cup city Belo Horizonte

Record ID: 216612

  • Title: BRAZIL: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - Engineers inspect collapsed bridge in World Cup city Belo Horizonte
  • Date: 4th July 2014
  • Summary: BELO HORIZONTE, BRAZIL (JULY 4, 2014) (REUTERS) A BUS CRUSHED IN THE ACCIDENT IS PREPARED TO BE TAKEN AWAY BY A RECOVERY VEHICLE SHATTERED WINDSHIELD OF BUS BLOOD ON SHATTERED GLASS WORKER PREPARING THE BUS TO BE TAKEN AWAY VARIOUS OF RECOVERY TRUCK DRIVING BUS AWAY THE ACCIDENT SITE / ONLOOKERS (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BELO HORIZONTE RESIDENT, SEBASTIAN BARBOSA DUARTE, 6
  • Embargoed: 19th July 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Brazil
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA18W28UZRUMOSJ7ILCRSZFXSA9
  • Story Text: Engineers on Friday (July 4) surveyed the damages caused by the collapse of an unfinished overpass in the Brazilian World Cup host city of Belo Horizonte, which killed one person and casts a shadow over a tournament that has suffered repeated construction accidents and delays.
    The bridge, located about two miles (3 km) from the World Cup Mineirao stadium, collapsed on Thursday (July 3) as vehicles were passing on a busy road underneath.
    It ran over one of the major thoroughfares connecting the stadium area with the international airport, and formed part of a Rapid Bus Transit (BRT) system that officials had promised would be ready for the World Cup, but had remained unfinished.
    Work on the network of bus corridors, financed with more than 1 billion reais ($450 million) in federal funds, began in 2010 and was supposed to finish in May.
    Downtown portions of the BRT network are running during the World Cup, but long stretches are still under construction.
    Two trucks were still trapped in the wreckage on Friday, and recovery vehicles extracted a heavily damaged bus.
    There were conflicting reports over the casualties of the accident in Belo Horizonte, which has already hosted five World Cup games and has the semi-final match on Tuesday (July 8).
    A health department spokesman earlier said two people died, but later said one of the deaths had not yet been confirmed.
    The city's fire department confirmed one death and 19 injuries, Lieutenant Colonel Edgard Estevo said.
    Residents who were at the site on Thursday said it was an unfortunate and unforeseen accident.
    "We have a lot of bridges here in Belo Horizonte and this has never happened before," said 69-year-old Sebastian Barbosa Duarte. "It was an accident, and unfortunately it did happen."
    The cause of the accident, the worst since the month-long tournament began on June 12, was unclear and no workers were known to be on the overpass when it fell.
    It is one of several projects plagued by fatal construction accidents in recent months, with eight workers having died whilst building stadiums in the 12 World Cup cities.
    Last month a worker died after a 90-tonne beam fell during the construction of a monorail train project in Sao Paulo.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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