A team of specialists on Tuesday, November 13, attempted to blast off the part of the bridge under construction between the villages of Iliašovce and Kurimany (Prešov region) that was damaged after a section of it collapsed on November 2.
"The upper part [of the bridge] was lifted up, but it didn't collapse - everything remained in place. It withstood quite a strong blast," an eye-witness told the TASR newswire. A construction team then intervened to remove the parts of the bridge that were damaged by the blast with heavy construction equipment. "The blast was organised by the constructor, in cooperation with the police investigator, to make sure that evidence [of the collapse] is not destroyed," Transport Ministry spokesman Martin Kóňa told TASR.
The collapse of a section of the D1 highway bridge under construction in eastern Slovakia on November 2 claimed the lives of four workers, while several others suffered injuries. Meanwhile, the Transport Ministry has forbidden the use of the WEISE support frameworks in all bridge constructions in Slovakia until the incident in eastern Slovakia is thoroughly investigated. The project was insured for €2 million, but the insurance company (Kooperatíva) wants to see responsibility assessed before it issues a payment.
“The blast has been moved to Thursday due to additional technology requirements for placing the explosive charges [securely],” Transport Minister Ján Počiatek told the media on Wednesday, as quoted by TASR.
(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
