4 dead as bridge collapses in Bohol

CEBU, Philippines —  FOUR people have died including a foreign national after the old Clarin Bridge in Barangay Poblacion, Loay Bohol collapsed Wednesday afternoon sending at least eight vehicles down under the famous Loboc River.

Police Captain Geronimo Conaco, of Loay Police Station, said they have yet to identify the fatalities as of last night.

Initial investigation revealed that due to the ongoing construction of the new Clarin Bridge, vehicles were rerouted to the old bridge.

"Tungod sa kakaraan nasad sa taytayan, ang portion nga nahugno kay ang puthaw man, sa pikas-pikas nga puthaw, nahugno jud," said Conaco.

At least eight vehicles were submerged in the water after the bridge collapsed. These include two vans and two dump trucks loaded with limestone. Conaco said the rest of the vehicles were smaller type.

As of this writing, personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection and local government unit were conducting search and rescue operation.

Bohol Governor Arthur Yap said the provincial government deployed two teams of divers to help in the search and rescue operation.

"At this point in time, hangyoon ko ang tanan na i-ampo ang mga possible victims, ilang mga pamilya, and most of all ang search and rescue operators who are in the area. Let us pray for all of them, and let us stay away from the area, as of this point in time," said Yap.

Yap said that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) told him that the collapse of the bridge might have been due to the stationary vehicle traffic.

"Ang parang nahitabo, na stationary ang traffic and there were a lot of cargo vehicles on the bridge, and the bridge could not take the weight, and that's the reason why it collapsed according to Engineer Magiting Cruz," said Yap.

The incident happened as President Rodrigo Duterte led the inauguration of the third bridge connecting mainland Cebu to Mactan Island yesterday.— FPL (FREEMAN)