10 Killed as Bridge Collapses in Latvia

A bridge collapsed when gravel-laden trucks were driven onto it in a structural test, killing 10 people and injuring 14, according to a Latvian newspaper reaching Moscow on Saturday.

The accident occurred Sept. 20 at the Kegumskaya hydroelectric station in the Baltic republic of Latvia, the Thursday edition of Soviet Latvia reported.

The power station is on the Daugava River near the town of Kegum, about 22 miles southeast of Riga, the Latvian capital.

The newspaper said that 14 trucks loaded with gravel were driven onto the 264-foot span to test its strength, and that the bridge collapsed just as the 14th truck was moved into place.

The spillway below was partially filled with water to a level reaching the tops of the trucks, the newspaper said.

Among those killed was the test director, identified as V. Saltsevich. The newspaper said the truck drivers escaped after the vehicles fell. All those killed were apparently members of the testing staff who had been standing on the span.