Three injured and three vehicles trapped in road bridge collapse in Ecuador

Three people were injured and three vehicles were trapped this Thursday when a bridge collapsed on a highway that connects the towns of Montecristi and Jipijapa, in the coastal province of Manabí, authorities reported in Ecuador.

“Three affected people are registered who receive the respective care. The local authorities are mobilizing to the site of the emergency ”, specified a statement from the Integrated Security Service ECU911, which received the alert at 1:36 pm local time.

The entity added that the emergency required the dispatch of three patrol cars, a Rescue and Medical Emergencies Unit (UREM) and the Traffic Accident Investigation Office (OIAT), in addition to two rescue vehicles and ambulances of the Fire Department of Montecristi and the Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security (IIESS).

Preliminary information pointed to the bridge collapsing when two off-road vehicles and a trailer were driving on it and were trapped, ECU911 added in a statement.

Images released by witnesses show how the truck was hung by the front wheels on the bridge that lies perpendicular to the ground, while the other vehicles are embedded in the lower part of the road that remained in a V shape.

Teams from the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works (MTOP) also traveled to the scene of the accident to assist in the emergency assistance, along with personnel from the Ecuadorian Transit Commission.

The Ministry indicated in a statement that “in order to restore connectivity in this sector, a Bailey bridge is planned to be installed, transferred from Jama.”

He also informed the drivers of the viability of two alternative routes: one in the Manabí direction to Guayaquil and the other in the Jipijapa direction to Portoviejo.

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