Five workers died and six more were injured when they fell 15 meters as bridge falsework they were working on collapsed around noon on Nov. 7 in the tiny Pyrenees principality of Andorra.
Emergency teams on brought a large crane Nov. 9 from neighboring Spain to help remove bodies of four workers buried by construction debris.
The accident occurred at the western portal of the recently completed Dos Valires tunnel, which is a few kilometers north east of the principality�s capital Andorra La Vella.
The men were working on falsework of twin deck, partially cable-stayed bridge being built as access to the tunnel. Workers had reportedly been pouring concrete for several hours when the falsework collapsed. No official cause has been given as investigations continue.
Most of the dead and injured men were from Portugal. Two worked for the local concrete supplier Unifor, according to Andorran government officials. The rest were employed with the Portuguese bridge subcontractor Ambicepol Unipessoal Lda., Marco de Canaveses. The firms are working for the bridge�s main contractors, a joint venture of Spain�s Dragados S.A., Madrid, with its local subsidiary and the Andorran contractor Treballs P�blics Armengo.
The bridge is being built to link the new 2.9-km-long tunnel to an existing highway. The tunnel was built to connect the communities of Encamp and La Massan.
A joint venture of Spain�s Madrid-based contractors Dragados ACS S.A., and Obras Subterraneas S.A., with the local Treballs Equipaments S.A. is responsible for the tunnel work.