The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has commenced an investigation into an accident on the ongoing 600-metre Otuogori Bridge venture in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, after stories circulated on social media that the bridge had collapsed.
The contractor dealing with the venture, Jillian Group of Companies, mentioned a employee sustained accidents when a belt used to place a bridge beam snapped throughout building, inflicting the beam to slip and strike different beams.
NDDC officers and journalists inspected the positioning on Monday to evaluate the incident and set up the circumstances surrounding the accident.
Speaking through the inspection, the NDDC State Director in Bayelsa, Engr. Godknows Alamieyeseigha, mentioned the fee had begun an on-the-spot evaluation.
He dismissed solutions that the incident resulted from structural failure, describing it as an accident that occurred throughout building.
Alamieyeseigha expressed confidence within the contractor’s capability to deal with the injury and full the venture, including that the fee would make its findings public after concluding its preliminary investigation.
The Managing Director of Jillian Group of Companies, Engr. Christian Omiezor, mentioned the bridge was nonetheless on the preparatory stage, explaining that the contractor had but to finish the construction.
According to him, the accident occurred whereas employees had been positioning beams on their bearings earlier than they might be completely secured.
“We are constructing a 600-metre bridge, but as you can see, we have not constructed a bridge yet. What you are seeing is just preparations for the bridge,” he mentioned.
“What was going on was the launching of the beams, and in the process, there was a slight accident. Because the beam was resting on a bearing and had not been secured, it could slide. That was what happened. The good thing is that, with the safety measures put in place, no life was lost.”
However, an organization consultant in control of the pile part, Engr. Abdul Eric, confirmed that one of many employees was injured and was receiving medical consideration.
Eric defined that the accident occurred after a beam was repositioned as a result of it was not correctly seated on its assist.
He mentioned the crane was being lowered to permit employees to take away its mattress from the supporting construction when the belt snapped, inflicting the beam to slip and hit different beams.
“In the process of lowering the bed, the belt cut, and the beam slid and fell on the other beams and seats,” he mentioned.
He added that the beam started swinging after the belt snapped, placing one other beam and inflicting additional injury.
“One of our workers is in the hospital. He is not too bad; he can walk, talk and move. The doctor said it would depend on when he would give us a paper for him to come back to the site,” Eric mentioned.
He additionally dismissed stories that the bridge had collapsed into the river or that individuals travelling on the water had been trapped or drowned.
According to him, the affected part was about 100 metres from the river, whereas the broken beams had been roughly 25 metres lengthy.
“There is nothing like a bridge falling on persons in the river. From here to the river is about 100 metres away from us. How will the bridge fall into the river? If the beam is 25 metres, how will it cross to the river?” he requested.
The firm’s structural engineer and Community Liaison Officer, Engineer Dr. Righteous Gilbert Damini, mentioned the accident broken the beams however didn’t compromise the bridge’s underlying construction.
Damini defined that building had progressed from the abutment to Pier One and Pier Two, whereas the incident occurred through the positioning of beams between Pier Two and Pier Three.
He mentioned the venture was being executed in levels and that concrete slabs, reinforcement and transverse beams required to offer further assist had but to be put in on the affected part.
“Basically, the structure is intact. The main things that were damaged were the beams. There’s no other thing that has been damaged on this bridge,” he mentioned.
The structural engineer mentioned the corporate had discarded the broken beams as an alternative of trying to restore them, including that substitute beams had been already out there on the website.
He mentioned the contractor was making preparations to reposition the bearings and resume the set up of substitute beams, expressing optimism that work would resume inside the week.
Meanwhile, Mike Apango, who recorded and circulated the video of the incident on social media, appealed to Nigerians and the NDDC to forgive him for the outline he utilized in presenting the incident.
Apango, who mentioned he was on a barge close to the development website when the accident occurred at about 9am, defined that he witnessed the belt snap and the beams fall in opposition to each other.
He mentioned he had not meant to misrepresent the incident however acknowledged that his description created the impression that the bridge itself had collapsed.
“It was not intentional. The belt was cut; it was not that the bridge fell. When the belt got cut, the beam hit another one, and that one hit another. That was what caused the accident,” he mentioned.
Apango, who recognized himself as a instructor, mentioned he recorded the incident as a result of he lived and slept on a tugboat across the venture website and needed to attract consideration to what had occurred.
The 600-metre Otuogori Bridge is an ongoing NDDC venture anticipated to enhance connectivity for residents of Otuogori and neighbouring communities in Ogbia Local Government Area.
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