Divers from the Navy and the Fire Department resumed, this Saturday morning (28), the search for missing people after the collapse of the Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira Bridge, on BR-226, between Aguiarnópolis (TO) and Estreito (MA). Work was suspended yesterday (27) due to the risk of collapse of what was left of the bridge structure, which collapsed last Sunday (22).
The National Department of Transport Infrastructure (Dnit) reported that, after the arrival and installation of precision equipment, stability was verified in the existing structure, allowing search work to resume. “We emphasize that monitoring of the structure is being carried out continuously”, stated the municipality.
The actions are being carried out by diving teams at a depth ranging from 20 to 60 meters.
Petrobras and Transpetro provided a robot and technical teams to help in the search for victims of the tragedy. New Navy equipment also arrived this Friday (27), including a hyperbaric chamber and the independent diving regulator, which is supplied with air via hoses that reach the surface. This will make it possible to carry out the work for a longer period of time.
There are nine dead and eight missing when the bridge collapsed. One person was rescued alive.
Today, the Navy corrected the number of deaths, reporting that, after identifying the body found at the end of yesterday (27), it was concluded that it was one of the people missing after the collapse of the bridge.
On Thursday (26), divers located the trucks transporting pesticides and sulfuric acid at a depth of around 35 meters in the Tocantins River. The National Water and Basic Sanitation Agency (ANA) issued a technical opinion that there is no risk of contamination water and reported that tests will continue to be carried out.
The Dnit reported that a task force is in the region to support the population, hiring ferries to cross the river, and working to investigate the causes of the structure’s collapse. The federal government will allocate more than R$100 million for the recovery and removal of rubble.
*Text changed at 2:27 pm to correct the number of dead and missing, made by the Navy
