Brazil bridge tragedy: 10 confirmed dead, chemical threat slows search

The Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira bridge collapsed on December 22 over the Tocantins River in Aguiarnopolis, Tocantins state, Brazil. Photo / AFP

The death toll after a bridge collapse in northern Brazil increased to 10 on Friday, authorities said.

The Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira bridge, which connects the states of Maranhao and Tocantins, collapsed on Sunday, sending vehicles and their occupants plunging into the water below.

The Brazilian Navy had been conducting rescues in the area, finding an additional body Thursday 6km from the accident site and a second victim Friday in the Tocantins River.

“As such, there are 10 dead and seven missing victims so far,” the Navy said in a statement, updating Thursday’s toll of eight dead and nine missing.

More than 70 rescuers continued the search nearly a week after the collapse, using a hyperbaric chamber to allow divers to search depths of more than 30m.

On Tuesday, Brazilian authorities had warned the Tocantins River could have been contaminated with sulphuric acid being transported by two trucks that tumbled into the water.

The Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira bridge collapsed on December 22 over the Tocantins River in Aguiarnopolis, Tocantins State, Brazil. Photo / AFP

A third truck involved in the accident was carrying pesticides.

A spokesperson for the fire department later told AFP that the tanks of all three trucks were “intact” after the collapse.

The danger from those chemicals, however, had slowed rescue and body-recovery operations for days while water analyses and inspections of the trucks' chemical tank trailers were carried out.

Initially constructed in the 1960s, the bridge was roughly 500m long.

The causes of the collapse were being investigated, but officials said initial indications were that the central beam of the bridge – built in the 1960s – gave way.

-Agence France-Presse