AM Governor declares a state of emergency after the collapse of a second bridge on BR-319

Ívina Garcia – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – The governor of Amazonas, Wilson Lima, declared a situation of emergency on the morning of Monday, 10, after the fall of the bridge over the Autaz Mirim River, which occurred on the night of Saturday, day 8, in the municipality at kilometer 12 of BR-319, which is located in Careiro da Várzea (88 kilometers from Manaus). This is the second bridge on BR-319 that collapses in ten days.

The collapse of the bridge over the Autaz Mirim River directly affects about 104,000 people who live in the region and depend on the road to work, study and live. Besides causing overpricing on food and liquids that used to be transported by road, but now depend on rafts, which makes the trip more expensive.

Read more: Second bridge falls on BR-319; Dnit teams investigate cause of collapse

“We have a series of situations that are happening there and are making life difficult for people, as the issue of flowing production, lack of supply of food, medicine, fuel, this being very important because it is what makes the thermal power plants work, which causes the risk of some of these municipalities to be without electricity”, reports the governor Wilson Lima.

Governor of Amazonas, Wilson Lima declared a state of emergency in municipalities affected by falling bridges (Ívina Garcia/Cenarium Magazine)

According to the governor, the emergency decree was signed so that measures can be taken more quickly, without having to go through bureaucracy that would normally face. “The emergency decree gives us the condition so that we don’t have, for example, to make a bidding process to hire transportation to get students to school or other important actions for the region”, he said.

Read more: Children of 3 and 10 years old are among victims of bridge accident on BR-319; injured had abrasions and fractures

A Crisis Committee, established by the state government in the fall of the first bridge, now receives the inclusion of the Secretaries of Health, Education, Rural Production, Superintendence of ports and Shipping and Social Assistance, in addition to having the Regional Electoral Court of Amazonas, which will use the state support to transport the ballot boxes to cities in the interior for the second round of elections this year.

Bridge over the Autaz Mirim River was blocked before collapsing. Dnit and PRF say there were no injuries (Associação Amigos da BR-319/Reproduction)

“In that region there are, approximately, 56 thousand voters, and we will support the transportation of ballot boxes, equipment, police, army men, and clerks. So, it is important to think about these logistics and support the Court”, he says.

The emergency situation decree covers the main municipalities affected by the collapse of the two bridges: Careiro da Várzea, Careiro Castanho and Manaquiri. The mayor of Autazes, Andreson Cavalcante, also attended the meeting of the Crisis Committee on Monday.

“The heavy load is now diverting to the highway that gives access to the city of Autazes, which is also necessary to have this attention”, explained the governor.

Read more: Demonstration of truckers may have caused accident on BR-319 bridge; Three dead and 14 injured were confirmed

Wilson Lima contacted the Minister of Infrastructure, Marcelo Sampaio, on Saturday, 8, as soon as he learned of the bridge collapse, to address what steps would be taken by the federal government to solve the problem.

The minister had made a statement through the social network Twitter, about the first bridge collapse on BR-319, but so far no official statement was issued about the second bridge, neither in the minister’s social networks, nor in the official channels of the National Department of Transport Infrastructure (Dnit) or the Ministry of Infrastructure, until the morning of Monday, 10.

With a meeting scheduled with Minister Marcelo Sampaio, Wilson Lima said he will make the Amazon available to the federal government for whatever is necessary and present the work that the state has been developing since the fall of the first bridge.

“Already in the first bridge, we set up a structure so that people can go down there safely, to be able to make the crossing. And these actions will be replicated for the Autaz Mirim bridge that collapsed”, says.

The governor announced the willingness of the state to make a contribution of R$ 500 million in the coming years, for the recovery of bridges along the BR-319. “But this would be an agreement in which the state would pass this money to the federal government, and they would carry out the process of the bridges, through the Ministry of Infrastructure”, he said.

Bridge over the Curuça River

Last September 28, the Curuçá River Bridge, located at kilometer 25 of the BR-319 highway, collapsed, causing four deaths and leaving 14 others injured. The general commander of the Amazonas Fire Department (CBMAM), Orleilso Muniz, says that the corporation continues to carry out work at the accident site.

“We rescued four victims, removed nine vehicles from the site and we still have one missing, so the work continues and will continue because the Army and the Dnit are already moving forward to prepare the placement of the structures of the metal bridge and we have scanned the site, so it is likely that this accident victim is buried”, said the commander of CBMAM.