4 hurt in Pangasinan bridge collapse

ACCIDENT Two trucks are waiting to be salvaged from the collapsed portion of the Carlos P. Romulo Bridge, also known as Wawa Bridge, in Bayambang, Pangasinan, on Thursday. —SARAH JANE ABALOS / CONTRIBUTOR

DAGUPAN CITY — Four people were hurt while two trucks were damaged after a portion of the Carlos P. Romulo Bridge (also known as Wawa Bridge) in Bayambang, Pangasinan, collapsed on Thursday, authorities said.

In a statement, Bayambang Mayor Niña Jose Quiambao said the two trucks were crossing the bridge when it caved in around 3:30 p.m. The bridge traverses the Agno River and connects the villages of Wawa and San Vicente in the town.

According to Quiambao, the injured victims were on board the two trucks and were taken to a hospital after they were pulled from the vehicles.

Probe underway

All motorists heading to Bayambang from nearby Camiling town in Tarlac province were advised to find alternative routes as the bridge was immediately closed, Quiambao said.

The local government has ordered an investigation to establish the cause of the collapse.

Bajun Charlie Junio Bato, who lives near the bridge, said residents heard a loud thud when the structure came crashing down.

Bato said some residents, many of them students, were stranded when the bridge caved in. Authorities asked people to avoid getting near the collapsed bridge after cracks surfaced in other parts of the structure. In April, four people, including a foreigner, died when a steel bridge in Loay town, Bohol province, collapsed. At least 23 others were injured in the accident.

They were in 12 vehicles that fell into the Loboc River when the Clarin Bridge gave way. Constructed in the 1970s, the bridge had undergone retrofitting after a magnitude 7.2 quake hit Bohol in 2013.

—YOLANDA SOTELO

READ: Bridge in Pangasinan town collapses; four rescued