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Three days after a bridge that connects the municipalities of Estreito (MA) and Aguiarnópolis (TO) collapsed over the Tocantins River, on Sunday, 22, a task force that involves agents from both states and the federal government is still searching to find missing.
Until Wednesday night, (12/25), the Tocantins Military Police confirmed the deaths of six people: a 25-year-old woman, an 11-year-old child, a 42-year-old man and a 45-year-old woman.
Firefighters search for missing people after collapse/Photo: Fire Department/Government of Tocantins
Two bodies were found by a team of divers on Wednesday. One of them is of a man who was inside the cabin of a truck that fell when the bridge collapsed. There are still no details about the second corpse.
They also located a 36-year-old man alive, taken to the hospital in Estreito (MA) with a broken leg. There are still 11 people missing.
According to the Federal Highway Police, at least eight vehicles fell into the river: four trucks, two cars and two motorcycles.
One of the difficulties in finding the bodies is that one of the vehicles was loaded with sulfuric acid – this Tuesday the body of the driver of this truck was found – and another was carrying herbicides. Authorities are awaiting the results of tests being carried out on water samples to check whether they can begin search work with divers.
The National Water Agency (ANA) reported, on Monday night, the 23rd, that the trucks were carrying 22 thousand liters of agricultural pesticides and 76 tons of sulfuric acid.
As a precaution, the government of Maranhão ordered the suspension of water collection for public supply in cities bathed by the Tocantins River until it is confirmed whether these products have been diluted and do not pose a risk.
ANA estimates that 19 cities may have been impacted: Of this total, 11 are in Tocantins (Aguiarnópolis, Carrasco Bonito, Cidelândia, Esperantina, Itaguatins, Maurilândia do Tocantins, Praia Norte, Sampaio, São Miguel do Tocantins, São Sebastiao do Tocantins and Tocantinópolis) and eight are located in Maranhão (Campestre do Maranhão, Estreito, Governador Edison Lobão, Imperatriz, Porto Franco, Ribamar Ficane, São Pedro da Água Branca and Vila Nova dos Martírios).
Municipalities also issued notices asking citizens to avoid contact with river water, due to the risk of contamination.
A BBC News Brazil found out from the Tocantinense Sanitation Agency that the complete water analysis results could take up to 15 days. But tests carried out on site indicated normality for the pH of the water – a measure that assesses the degree of acidity or alkalinity.
“This leads us to believe that the truck tanks did not rupture,” said Antônio Davi Goveia Junior, president of the agency. No fish deaths were identified in the area either.
On the Maranhão side, some cities supplied with water from the Tocantins River, such as Imperatriz and Estreito itself, had their supply suspended. On the Tocantins side, the cities are supplied by groundwater.
The lieutenant colonel of the Tocantins Fire Department Donaldo Lourinho de Oliveira told the reporter that for now the searches are being carried out with boats, but that there is already a group of divers awaiting the results of the tests to take action.
This stage, however, depends on the issuance of a technical report that guarantees the safety of submerged operations. A meeting is planned between technicians from Ibama, the National Water and Basic Sanitation Agency (ANA) and the sanitation companies from the two States this Tuesday (24/12), Christmas Eve.
Navy divers are expected to help with the search.
Known issues
Maranhao Military Fire Department/via REUTERS/Photo: Ponto JK was opened in 1960
Opened in the 1960s, the Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge was 533 meters long – and its problems were already known.
The National Department of Transport Infrastructure (Dnit) reported that repair work was carried out there between 2021 and 2023, but that the bridge needed to undergo “rehabilitation work”.
In May 2024, a public notice worth approximately R$13 million was launched, “to hire a specialized company to prepare preliminary studies, basic and executive engineering design and execution”, says Dnit.
“The bid, however, was unsuccessful, with no company winning the competition”, continues the note.
The newspaper Folha de S.Paulo had access to a report that showed that the Dnit knew since 2019 about the precarious situation on the bridge that collapsed.
The professor of civil engineering at the Federal University of Tocantins (UFT), Fabio Ribeiro, specialized in construction pathology, told the reporter that the accident is the result of a series of failures.
“It is a relatively old bridge, which was designed and built under very different conditions to what is done today. There were already complaints from local residents. Some of my former students who live in the region say that some of these problems were already identified more than ten years ago.”
For the specialist, the need for maintenance of the equipment was evident. “The images show exposed reinforcement (steel that is inside the concrete), cracks and cracks. This exposed armor generates a major problem, which is corrosion, which is progressive. There comes a time when the bridge can no longer support the load”, he says.
“It’s impossible to say that we didn’t know. We have a big problem in Brazil regarding bridge inspection. It’s not done as it should be. When it is done, it is often a budget issue and repairs are not made.”
In a statement, the Public Ministry of the State of Maranhão informed that a procedure will be opened to investigate “possible environmental repercussions”. The case will be handled by the Estreito Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The Public Ministry of Tocantins said that it “awaits the conclusion of the technical and diagnostic reports by the responsible bodies to analyze possible measures in all areas of its operations.”
Minister says the cause will be investigated
The Dnit announced, on Sunday, the total closure of the site, on BR-226/TO, and said that teams would investigate the possible causes of the bridge collapse and take the necessary measures.
According to the agency, an emergency situation was declared to facilitate the bureaucratic procedures for the reconstruction of the bridge. The deadline stipulated for the work is 12 months. And the estimated cost is between R$100 and R$150 million.
During a press conference in Estreito, the Minister of Transport, Renan Filho, confirmed that he will allocate more than R$100 million to guarantee immediate reconstruction.
“With the emergency declared, we will contract the reconstruction of the bridge in 2024,” said Renan Filho.
The minister also stated that an investigation will be launched to determine responsibilities. “We will work dedicatedly to make this bridge a great example of organization and resolution capacity for the Ministry of Transport.”
‘Our city is in shock’
A councilor from Aguiarnópolis, Elias Junior (Republicans), recorded a complaint about the lack of maintenance of the bridge and ended up catching the moment when the structure began to give way. It showed cracks in the ground when suddenly a hole appears in the bridge. In the video, you can hear the person filming him shouting: “look, get out of there! Get away from me, crazy man, my God in heaven.”
He told BBC News Brasil that repairs were a frequent demand from residents and that, therefore, he went to the site to make the videos. “It is a bridge that is more than 60 years old. It was already generating major concerns. I would never have imagined that I would be recording the situation right at the time of the tragedy,” he said. “We came down here with our hands on our heads, as if we were in a movie. Our city is in shock.”
