ESTREITO, Brazil (Reuters) – Brazilian state and federal authorities on Tuesday assessed the risks of water pollution after trucks carrying sulfuric acid and agricultural pesticides plunged into a river in a deadly bridge collapse on Sunday.
The center span of a 533-meter (583-yard) bridge connecting the towns of Estreito in Maranhao state and Aguiarnopolis in Tocantins state gave way as vehicles crossed the Tocantins River on Sunday afternoon.
The Maranhao state government and the Tocantins Fire Department confirmed three more deaths in separate statements on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to four and more than 10 people still missing.
Rescue divers called off their efforts on Sunday after discovering that trucks carrying sulfuric acid had fallen into the river.
“We are waiting for certain institutions to collect and analyze the water so that we can dive together with 25 divers to recover the victims who are in the Tocantins riverbed,” said Col. Magnum Coelho of the Maranhao Fire Department.
According to the Brazilian water regulator ANA, three trucks carrying a total of 76 tons of sulfuric acid and about 25,000 liters of agricultural pesticides fell into the river.
In a statement on Monday evening, the authority said it was monitoring the contamination risk together with the Maranhao Environment Minister and that water samples were being taken from the Tocantins River.
It was not immediately clear whether the chemicals were leaking and to what extent.
“Although we do not yet have final analytical results on the pollution, the Environment Ministry determined that the pH of the water was normal,” Carlos Brandao, governor of Maranhao state, told CNN Brasil television on Monday.
State and federal authorities have told cities that could be affected by the incident to refrain from collecting water from the Tocantins River.
