There is a risk of water pollution after a bridge collapsed in northern Brazil over the weekend and trucks carrying thousands of liters of pesticides and sulfuric acid were thrown into the river.
Four people are known to have died and more than 10 are missing after the central section of the bridge between the states of Tocantins and Maranhão gave way on Sunday afternoon.
It is not clear if and how much chemicals leaked from their containers, but diving operations in the river were suspended while the situation was assessed.
A dramatic video shot by a local councilor who went to the bridge to point out cracks in it showed the collapse beginning.
Councilor Elias Junior said he never expected the bridge to actually collapse when he was there and was “in shock”.
Eight vehicles fell into the river, including three trucks carrying chemicals.
People in the towns of Estreito and Aguiarnopolis on both sides of the river were told not to collect water from it.
Rescue operations are carried out from boats. According to the fire department, four bodies were recovered, including the driver of one of the trucks and an 11-year-old girl. A man was rescued alive from the water on Sunday.
The Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira Bridge, more than half a kilometer long, was built in the 1960s and is the main connection between the two states over the Tocantins River.
