Brazil assesses chemical risks after tankers toppled bridge collapse Reuters

ESTREITO, Brazil (Reuters) – Brazilian state and federal officials were on Tuesday assessing water pollution risks after trucks carrying sulfuric acid and agricultural pesticides fell into a river on Sunday. the bridge collapses.

The central bridge of the 533-meter (583-yard) bridge that connects the town of Estreito in the Maranhao district to Aguiarnopolis in the Tocantins district collapsed as vehicles crossed the Tocantins River on Sunday afternoon.

The Maranhao state government and the Tocantins fire department confirmed three more deaths in separate announcements on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to four, with more than 10 people still missing. you are not there.

Rescuers had called off their efforts on Sunday after discovering that trucks carrying sulfuric acid were falling into the river.

“We are waiting for specialized centers to collect and analyze the water so that we, together with 25 divers, can dive to retrieve the victims in the bed of the Tocantins River,” Colonel Magnum Coelho of the Maranhao fire department said .

According to the Brazilian water authority ANA, three trucks carrying a total of 76 tons of sulfuric acid and about 25,000 liters of pesticides fell into the river.

In a statement on Monday evening, the department said that it is assessing the risk of contamination together with the environment secretary of Maranhao, and said that water samples will be collected from the Tocantins River.

It was not immediately clear what chemicals were leaking, and if so how much.

“Although we still do not have the results of the final analysis on the pollution, the Ministry of the Environment noted that the pH of the water was normal,” the Governor of Maranhao state Carlos Brandao told the TV channel CNN Brasil on Monday .

Federal and state officials have told towns that could be affected by the event to avoid drawing water from the Tocantins River.