A Belgian and a Polish man died and two other Belgians were injured in the Netherlands on Wednesday after part of a bridge under construction collapsed in the Dutch town of Lochem, in the east of the country, the Dutch Labour Inspectorate reported on Thursday.
Dutch local media reported that something went wrong with the hoisting of the bridge arch. The circumstances of what happened are not yet clear, but the authorities have since opened an investigation.
"The arch was hanging in the hoists all morning," said a reporter from local Dutch daily De Stentor, who was on the scene when it happened. "Suddenly a huge bang sounded and the whole arch started swinging. Then the whole thing fell down. We saw two construction workers falling down."
Emergency services are on the scene en masse and a trauma helicopter also landed at the site. The Labour Inspectorate said that the arc landed on at least two people. On Thursday, an Inspectorate spokesperson said that the two men concerned were Belgian.
One of them took a big fall and is seriously injured but out of danger. The other is slightly injured and will be allowed to leave hospital soon.
Translation: 'Two trauma helicopters and Fire Service Technical Assistance called in. Assembly of the bridge began today.'
Some 35-40 people witnessed the time of the accident. Victim assistance has been called in for them.
A bypass is currently being built near Lochem, with two new bridges crossing the Twente Canal. Construction company BAM was due to lift the arches of one of the bridges into place on Wednesday morning. Due to strong winds, the plans were slightly adjusted. It is not clear whether the wind played a role in the accident.
