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At least ten construction workers lost their lives and five others injured when a partially-constructed bridge collapsed in Chirajara, Colombia along the border of Cundinamarca and Meta provinces. Nine of the laborers were killed immediately, and the tenth died in a nearby hospital due to injuries sustained as a result of the fall, according to Deutsche Welle. Eleven others have been reported as missing.
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The incident occurred while the laborers were working on the bridge's drainage system.
The 446-meter-long bridge, which was not officially in public use, was intended to be part of a major highway system connecting the capital Bogota with the city of Villavicencio. It was set to be open in March.
Reinaldo Romero, head of the disaster response for Meta province said the cause of the collapse, which sent pieces of the bridge down into a canyon below, is under investigation, according to Reuters.
"Up to now there are nine dead and five injured," Romero said, adding that rescue crews "are doing a check to rule out other victims."
German Cardona, Colombia's Transportation Minister, flew above the site of the collapsed bridge, as well as visited rescue staff operating on the ground in conjunction with the head of the national infrastructure agency, Dimitri Zaninovich.
The bridge and road overhaul, according to Deutsche Welle, are a part of Colombia’s massive “4G” infrastructure program that is attracting billions of dollars in private-public partnership investments to improve the country's transportation system. It comprises the construction of eight bridges and five tunnels.
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