Monumento em homenagem da tragédia de entre-os-rios

At about 21:00 on the night of 4 March 2001, the Hintze Ribeiro disaster (also known as Entre-os-Rios disaster) occurred when the steel and concrete Hintze Ribeiro Bridge collapsed in Entre-os-Rios,

Castelo de Paiva Castelo de Paiva () is a town and a municipality of the Aveiro District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 16,733, in an area of 115.01 km2. On 4 March 2001 at 9 pm, a 116-year-old metal bridge linking the parish/council of Sobrado (a.k ...

, northern

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

, killing 59 people, including those in a bus from the Asadouro company and three cars that were crossing the

Douro The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...

river. Fast waters and a storm at the time gave no chance for an immediate rescue, and the victims drowned. The strong river current carried bodies downstream more than to the

Atlantic ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. Bodies were found as far away as the north coast of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

and one even in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Hours after the accident, the Minister of Social Equipment Jorge Coelho resigned. The following week, dozens of bridges across Portugal were closed for immediate repair. The tragedy caused widespread shock across the nation, with all television networks broadcasting continuous news bulletins, and many solidarity campaigns being organized to help the victims' relatives. The bridge had linked Castelo de Paiva,

Aveiro District Aveiro District ( pt, Distrito de Aveiro, or ) is located in the central coastal region of Portugal. The capital of the district is the city of Aveiro, which also serves as the seat of Aveiro Municipality. Aveiro District is bordered by the Po ...

and Entre-os-Rios,

Porto District The District of Porto ( pt, Distrito do Porto ) is located on the north-west coast of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Porto, the second largest city in the country. It is bordered by the Aveiro and Viseu districts to the south, Br ...

. After the loss of the bridge, residents of Castelo de Paiva had to travel an additional to reach the

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

area. The bridge was more than 100 years old. The collapse was caused by uncontrolled sand extraction over many years, which compromised the stability of the bridge's

pillar A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

s. Warnings from divers and technicians had been ignored. The sand extractors were prosecuted and sued.

References

{{Authority control 2001 disasters in Portugal Bridge disasters caused by maintenance error Bridge disasters in Portugal Bus incidents in Portugal Castelo de Paiva Transport disasters in Portugal 2001 in Portugal 2001 road incidents March 2001 events in Europe

See also

References