Two Dead as Overpass Collapses in World Cup and Olympic City

(ATR) At least two people have died and 22 were injured when an unfinished overpass collapsed in the World Cup city of Belo Horizonte.

The front of a passenger bus, two trucks and a car were crushed when the Batalha dos Guararapes flyover in the north of the city collapsed on Thursday.

Located about 3km from the Mineirão Stadium, which is hosting the July 8 semi-final and has staged five other matches, the overpass was due to be completed for the World Cup but was still under construction.

Some of the bloodied passengers pulled from the bus and vehicles blamed the incompetence of authorities, while some people at the scene of the tragic accident were pictured with signs saying "This is the reality of the Cup" and "World Cup disaster: put it on Fifa's bill", according to a Reuters report.

Reports from Belo Horizonte said the overpass was part of a network of bus corridors. While some parts of the Bus Rapid Transit system are working well, other sections failed to open on time and remain under construction.

Brazil president Dilma Rousseff expressed her sadness about the accident in a message on Twitter. "In this moment of pain, I offer my solidarity to the families of the victims," she said.

The cause of the accident is not yet clear.

The Belo Horizonte flyover collapse is the worst accident to happen in a World Cup city since the tournament opened on June 12. The city is also staging men's and women's football matches at the Rio Olympics, and hosting TeamGB and ParalympicsGB pre-Games training camps.

Amid the rush to get delayed stadiums and infrastructure finished for the tournament, a series of fatal construction accidents temporarily halted work on several other projects. Eight workers died on stadium construction sites.

The City Hall of Belo Horizonte said in a statement that officials were "deeply saddened" by the accident.

The city said it mobilised its entire SAMU team – Urgent Mobile Medical Care Service – shortly after the accident to provide all of the necessary support to the victims.

An investigation has been launched to find out why the overpass collapsed.

"Representatives from the municipal secretariat of works and infrastructure, civil defence, Cowan, the company responsible for the construction work, and Consol, the company responsible for the project, were immediately summoned to the site to conduct a study of all the facts related to the accident to produce a thorough report on the causes and define the next steps to be taken," the statement added.

The Mayor of Belo Horizonte, Marcio Lacerda, was at the accident site on Thursday afternoon to voice his support for the victims. He officially declared three days of mourning in memory of the deaths of the two victims.

"Mayor Lacerda expressed his sadness and solidarity with the victims and their families and reaffirmed that at this time, the most important consideration was to give all the care and support to those that suffered the terrible consequences of this accident," said the statement.

City authorities stated that all of the necessary safety and transport provisions required for staging the World Cup semi-final on Tuesday will be delivered.

Written by Mark Bisson.

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