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Fears of toxic spill following Brazil bridge collapse

There are fears of water pollution after a bridge collapsed in northern Brazil at the weekend, sending trucks carrying thousands of liters of pesticides and sulfuric acid into the river below.

Four people are known to have died, and more than 10 are missing after the center section of the bridge that connects the states of Tocantins and Maranhão collapsed on Sunday afternoon.

It is not clear how much or how much these chemicals leaked from their containers, but the diving activity in the river has been suspended while the situation is assessed.

The video of the game shot by the local councilor who went to the bridge to draw attention to the cracks in it shows the beginning of the collapse.

Councilor Elias Junior said he did not expect that the bridge would actually collapse when he was there and he was “shocked”.

Eight vehicles were thrown into the river, including three chemical trucks.

People in the towns of Estreito and Aguiarnopolis, on both sides of the river, have been told to avoid drawing water from it.

Rescue operations are carried out on boats. Four bodies have been found, including the female driver of one truck and an 11-year-old girl, the fire department said. One man was rescued alive from the water on Sunday.

The Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira Bridge – more than half a kilometer (1,600ft) long – was built in the 1960s and is the main link between the two provinces across the Tocantins River.


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