Greece bridge collapse kills one, injures eight

ATHENS — The collapse of a bridge undergoing works in western Greece on Sunday killed one person and wounded eight others, Greek authorities said.

Three people were arrested on Sunday evening while efforts were in full swing to rescue at least two people from under the debris, ERT TV reported.

Athens News Agency, citing police, reported that one of those arrested is the project's security officer and the other two were workers at the site.

The fire department said it was called out shortly after midday local time when part of a bridge collapsed in Patras, in the Proastio area on the road to the capital Athens.

Eight injured were taken to hospitals and one person was killed in the collapse, the fire department said.

Some 35 firefighters and 12 vehicles were rushed to the scene, as well as drones and special rescue vehicles.

Fire department spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said traffic had been closed on the bridge since July 20 "due to demolition work for the reconstruction of the lower crossing".

The reasons for the collapse of the bridge, which links Patras Port on the Peloponnese Peninsula in south-western Greece to Athens, were not immediately clear.

Efthymios Lekkas, president of the Earthquake Protection Organisation OASP, told ERT television that the bridge had stability problems that were known to the authorities.

Restoration work began in 2021 at a cost of over 6 million euros, according to ERT.