Officials of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) on Monday inspected the ongoing construction of the 600-metre Otuogori Bridge in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

The interventionist agency carried out the inspection, accompanied by journalists to verify false claims alleging the collapse of the bridge.

It was gathered that what actually happened was that the cable of the crane used in positioning beams snapped, which caused the beam and others which had been laid to collapse.

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There were no reported casualties.

Godknows Alamieyeseigha, NDDC State Director in Bayelsa, told journalists that the commission had commenced an on-the-spot assessment to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Alamieyeseigha dismissed concerns that the incident was caused by structural failure, describing it as an accident that occurred during construction.

He expressed confidence in the competence of Jillian Group of Companies, the contractor, to address the issues identified by the commission and deliver the project to the people of Otuogori.

According to him, preliminary investigations were ongoing and that the commission would make its findings public at the conclusion of the exercise.

Also speaking during the inspection, Christian Omiezor, Managing Director of Jillian Group of Companies, explained that the bridge was still at the preparatory stage, with the contractor yet to complete the construction of the bridge structure.

Omiezor disclosed that the incident occurred during the launching of the bridge beams, which were being positioned on their bearings as part of the construction process.

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He explained that the beams were not yet permanently secured and could slide while resting on the bearings.

Omiezor described the incident as a minor one and attributed the absence of casualties to the safety measures put in place at the construction site.

“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 said.

“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.”