Divers Search for Victims of Portugal Bridge Collapse

As hundreds of grieving residents watched, divers worked cautiously in a rain-swollen river in northern Portugal on Monday searching for at least 60 bodies from vehicles that plunged into the water when a bridge collapsed.

Crews in motorboats strung steel cables across the Douro River, about 180 miles north of Lisbon, the capital. Frogmen fastened to the cables dove into the murky water. At dusk, authorities suspended the search until today.

The divers were looking for a double-decker bus that fell 165 feet from the bridge when a support pillar crumbled about 9 p.m. Sunday, sending a 250-foot section of the stone and metal structure into the water. Witnesses said two cars also fell into the water. The area of the river where the vehicles fell was believed to be 50 feet deep.

Officials were unsure of the exact death toll. They believed that about 60 people were on the bus and as many as 10 were in the cars.

Seven hours after the search began, the divers had found only one body, that of a woman between the ages of 60 and 65, officials said.

Dozens of local people jeered Prime Minister Antonio Guterres when he visited the scene. They blamed the deaths on the government, which is responsible for the 116-year-old bridge’s maintenance.

Guterres rejected the accusation. But Justice Minister Antonio Costa later said the government accepted responsibility and would pay compensation to the victims’ families.

Infrastructure Minister Jorge Coelho announced Sunday night that he was quitting. “I completely accept the political responsibility for this accident,” he said.

Mayor Paulo Teixeira said he warned the government about cracks in the bridge three years ago.