Three days mourning in Belo Horizonte after fatal bridge collapse near World Cup stadium
BELO HORIZONTE: Marcio Lacerda, the Mayor of Belo Horizonte, has declared three days of mourning in the city after two people died and 19 were injured after the collapse of an overpass.
The viaduct, over the busy Avenida Pedro I collapsed in mid-afternoon and crushed a bus, a car and a truck. The scene is four miles from the Estadio Mineirao which will host a World Cup semi-final next Tuesday.
Ten of the injured were taken by emergency services to the Hospital Risoleta Tolentino Neves and two others to the Odilon Behrens municipal hospital. Five others were released after being treated at the site.
The viaduct was a feature of World Cup transport development for the World Cup but was among many projects across the country which had not been completed in time for the tournament.
Cowan Construction, the building company, said it “deeply regrets” the incident and had launched an investigation.
Belo Horizonte city statement:
The City Hall of Belo Horizonte is deeply saddened by the accident that occurred this Thursday afternoon, when a part of the Batalha dos Guararapes overpass in the north of the city, collapsed. This tragic accident led to the death of two people in addition to injuring 19 others.
Shortly after the accident, the City mobilized its entire SAMU team – Urgent Mobile Medical Care Service – from the municipal hospital network and the Municipal Civil Defence Coordination, in tandem with the Fire Department, Military and Civil Police, to immediately provide all of the necessary support to the victims
Teams from BHTrans, the local transport authority, were also called into action to provide traffic detours to support the rescue team’s work. Representatives from the Municipal Secretariat of Works and Infrastructure, Civil Defence, Cowan, the company responsible for the construction work, and Consol, the company responsible for the project, were immediately summoned to the site to conduct a study of all the facts related to the accident to produce a thorough report on the causes and define the next steps to be taken.
The Mayor of Belo Horizonte, Marcio Lacerda, was at the accident site this afternoon to voice his support for the victims and officially declared three days of mourning in memory of the deaths of the two victims. Mayor Lacerda expressed his sadness and solidarity with the victims and their families and reaffirmed that at this time, the most important consideration was to give all the care and support to those that suffered the terrible consequences of this accident.
Additionally, the City Hall of Belo Horizonte stated that all of the necessary safety and transport provisions required for the staging of the Semi Final game of the 2014 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday July 8th will be delivered.
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