Underwater searches were resumed on Wednesday afternoon (25); 11 people are still missing, including two children
The collapse of the Juscelino Kubitschek bridge, which connects the states of Tocantins and Maranhão, resulted in the confirmation of six deaths so far. The underwater searches were resumed on Wednesday afternoon (25) and, during the operation, the bodies of Anísio Padilha Soares, aged 43, and Silvana dos Santos Rocha Soares, aged 53, were found. They were in a truck along with their granddaughter, Lorrane Cidronio de Jesus, 11 years old, who was rescued on Tuesday (24).
There are still 11 people missing, including two children. On Tuesday (24), rescue teams located the bodies of Kecio Francisco Santos Lopes, aged 42, and Andreia Maria de Sousa, aged 45. The search operations are being carried out by 29 Navy divers and teams from the Fire Department in the states of Maranhão, Tocantins and Pará.
Conditions for the searches are challenging, with low visibility and strong currents in the river, which reaches depths of around 50 meters. To assist in locating the submerged truck, equipment called SideScan Sonar was used, which helped identify the possible position of the vehicle at a depth of around 40 meters.
The situation is even more delicate due to the presence of debris from the bridge and the dangerous load of the trucks involved in the accident, which were transporting sulfuric acid and agricultural pesticides. Although there is no evidence of contamination of the river so far, the operation was suspended early on Sunday evening (22) for safety reasons. Among the vehicles that fell were two tanker trucks, which were carrying 76 tons of sulfuric acid and 22 thousand liters of pesticides.
Analyzes are being conducted with the collaboration of Cetesb, the Ministry of the Environment and Embrapa Meio Ambiente. A meeting between representatives of the federal government and the states of Tocantins and Maranhão is scheduled for Thursday afternoon (26) to discuss the impacts of the bridge collapse on water use in the region.
*Report produced with the help of AI
