Bridge under construction collapses in Lochem; Two killed, two hurt

Two people died and two were injured when a bridge under construction in Lochem collapsed on Wednesday morning, the Veiligheidsrgio Noord- en Oost-Gelderland said at around 13:00 p.m. The collapse left people trapped under the rubble. Emergency services responded to the scene on Goorseweg (N346) in large numbers.

The Labor Inspectorate reported that a bridge section that was being lifted fell onto at least two victims. A spokesperson for the regional security office for the northern and eastern region of Gelderland told RTL Nieuws that first responders resuscitated at least one person, and "at least one other person is trapped in the box of the crane involved. It is possible that there is another person in that box, which would mean that a fifth person has been injured."

Dozens of firefighters, paramedics, and police officers were sent to the scene shortly after the incident was reported at 11:11 a.m. Three trauma teams were also dispatched by helicopter to the area within minutes. The incident was quickly escalated to a Grip 1 regional emergency. The disaster response protocol calls for first responders to coordinate their efforts under a single incident commander.

The bridge is being built over the Twente Canal. Today, contractor BAM was assembling the new bridge on the quay next to the canal, lifting the largest parts - the girders and arches - into the air to be secured together. This happened on dry land right next to the canal.

Omroep Gelderland reported that a section of that bridge fell from the hoists used to lift it during work and came crashing down. The workers were mounting bridge arches when one of the arches wobbled until it broke loose.

Nike Hoitink, a reporter for the regional newspaper De Stentor, saw the collapse happen. “The arch was hanging in the hoists all morning,” she told the newspaper. “Suddenly, there was a huge bang. The entire arch started to swing. Then the whole thing came down. We saw two construction workers fall.”

According to Hoitink, the construction workers stood on an “extremely high scaffolding.” RTL reporter Pieter Munnik said it looked like “there is at least one employee still at the top” of the scaffolding. “The condition of that person is not known,” Munnik said. “The construction site is closed to bystanders, and the police are conducting an investigation, including with drones. There are two cranes here. You can see that the cables of one of the cranes have snapped.”

Many employees saw the accident happen, the safety office said. Victim Support took in about 40 people at an adjacent company.

The bridge will be called the Nettelhorster Bridge. It will be almost 140 meters long, 25 meters high, and 12.5 meters wide, according to De Stentor.