World

Deadly Bridge Collapse In Portugal

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

March 5, 2001 / 7:44 AM EST / CBS

Divers secured by cables against a powerful current searched for a bus and two cars with at least 60 people inside that plunged 165 feet into a swollen river after a bridge collapsed beneath them.

Crews in motorboats strung cables across the fast-flowing Douro River while divers attached to the cables searched the murky brown water for the double-decker bus.

"The current is very strong," said Joaquim Marinha, who was coordinating the search. "It's very dangerous for the divers and the boats."

Officials said Monday they were unsure of the exact death toll, though they announced there were no survivors. An hour after the search started, divers pulled a first body from the water. It was taken away in a white body bag.

The vehicles plummeted into 50-foot-deep water when a support pillar crumbled Sunday evening under the 116-year-old stone and metal bridge over the Douro, one of Portugal's major rivers. A 246-foot-long section of the 660-foot bridge collapsed.

Eduardo Moreira, a local man who witnessed the collapse, told TSF radio that the two cars disappeared immediately but he could see the bus's headlights as it sank slowly and was swept down river.

Marinha said there were about 60 people on the bus, which had taken local people on a day trip. Some people booked on the tour had not turned up for the trip, making reliable figures difficult to obtain, he said.

Previously, officials had estimated as many as 67 people in the bus and 10 in the cars.

Some 126 emergency workers, 40 emergency vehicles and 12 boats were at the scene in this rural town about 180 miles north of the capital, Lisbon. But they had to wait two hours after their planned starting time at dawn before resuming the search because of thick mist over the water. The divers aimed to work quickly because bad weather was forecast for the afternoon, Marinha said.

A dam upstream from the accident site closed its sluice gates in an attempt to reduce the river's flow.

Bodies were to be taken to a nearby gymnasium, six miles away, because the town has no morgue. Psychologists were on hand at a local auditorium to counsel grieving relatives.

The local mayor, Paulo Teixeira, claimed he had warned the government, which is responsible for the bridge's maintenance, about cracks in the structure three years ago.

Infrastructure Minister Jorge Coelho called a late news conference in Lisbon to announce he was quitting. "I completely accept the political responsibility for this accident," he said.

The government ordered an official inquiry.

Manuel Fonseca, a local fireman, said he was angry about the accident.

"It's a great tragedy that could have been avoided," he said. "The bridge was known to be unsafe."

Prime Minister Antonio Guterres received a hostile reception when he arrived in Castelo on Monday to express his condolences.

"Why don't you just go away, shouted one man in a crowd that gathered round him.

Portugal has declared two days of official mourning from Tuesday, which means that flags on state buildings will fly at half-mast.