ARCHIVED - Collapse of bridge in Beniel leaves cement lorry in precarious situation
The puente de El Secano bridge across the River Segura collapsed on Monday
The driver of a cement lorry managed to emerge from a terrifying incident with only mild injuries after the spectacular collapse of a bridge over the river Segura in Beniel on Monday afternoon.
The regional emergencies centre received a number of calls just before 4.30 p.m. advising that the bridge had collapsed into the river, taking a cement lorry with it.
A number of different services all rushed to the scene of the accident, but miraculously the driver of the vehicle managed to climb out of the window of the cab and only suffered minor injuries, although was obviously in a significant state of shock after the incident.
The water supply in Beniel was affected by the collapse of the bridge, which took out the water pipes running beneath it.
An investigation is underway into how the incident occurred, but the town hall has already put out a press release stating that the bridge is clearly signposted as having a weight limit of 5 tons and the lorry in question weighs 40 tons.
On Tuesday work began to try and remove the lorry from the river and resolve the water supply issues.