“This is the incompetence of our authorities and our businesses. Because of the World Cup they sped everything up to finish faster. That’s why this tragedy has happened. They are not making things properly. Everyone is very angry.”
Andrew Cawthorne of Reuters brings the grim news:
An unfinished overpass collapsed in the Brazilian World Cup host city of Belo Horizonte on Thursday, killing at least one person and casting a shadow over a tournament that has suffered repeated construction accidents and delays.
The bridge, located about two miles (3 km) from the Mineirao Stadium where World Cup games are being played, collapsed as vehicles were passing on a busy road underneath.
Part of a passenger bus was crushed and another car was still trapped in the wreckage hours later.
Condolences, of course. But this tragic story will likely persist as emblematic of many Brazilians’ criticism of the effort to host the World Cup. Updates put the human toll at two dead, twenty-two injured.
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Cawthorne, Andrew. “Overpass collapses in World Cup city”. Reuters. 3 July 2014.
See also: Reuters. “Slideshow: Brazil overpass collapse”. 3 July 2014.
BBC News. “Brazil overpass collapses on bus in Belo Horizonte”. 3 July 2014.
Image credit: Detail of photograph by Ivan Alvardao (Reuters).
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