Councilor Elias Júnior (Republicanos-TO) captured on video the exact moment in which part of the bridge that connects the states of Tocantins and Maranhão collapsed on Sunday afternoon (22). The incident resulted in one confirmed death and an undetermined number of people missing.
In an interview with CNN the Aguiarnópolis councilor reported that he was recording a video to document the precarious conditions of the bridge, built in the 1960s, when the collapse occurred. “I went to record, I invited some friends to help me hold my cell phone to record everything,” said Elias.
Providential delay
The councilor revealed that a delay of approximately five minutes, due to a conversation with a friend, may have been crucial for his safety. “These delays were God’s deliverance that I wasn’t in the middle of that bridge too,” he said.
The images captured by Elias show the moment the structure begins to give way, with a pickup truck passing moments before the collapse. The video quickly went viral on social media and was widely shared by national media.
Impact on the region
The collapse of the bridge has serious implications for the region. Elias Júnior highlighted that the structure was vital for the connection between the states: “They are isolated, especially from our city of Aguiarnópolis, which depends on the bridge to work”.
Furthermore, the councilor highlighted that the incident will affect the flow on the Belém-Brasília highway, one of the main highways in the country. Rescue operations were temporarily suspended due to the presence of toxic material in the water, coming from a truck that was on the bridge at the time of the collapse.
Local and federal authorities are mobilized to deal with the situation and plan the reconstruction of the bridge. The case raises questions about the maintenance and security of aging infrastructure across the country.
This content was originally published in Councilor who caught bridge collapse in Tocantins speaks to CNN on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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