Rescue teams recover final body from Maysan bridge collapse

MAYSAN — Rescue teams in Maysan recovered the final body from the rubble of the Al-Tibber Bridge south of Amarah, centre of Maysan governorate, which collapsed on Sunday after a heavily loaded truck carrying bricks caused the central section of the bridge to give way. The incident resulted in the deaths of the truck driver, a 16-year-old boy who fell into the river along with his motorcycle, and the truck driver’s assistant, whose body was recovered today after a five-day search.

“Rescue teams have been working tirelessly for five days to recover the final body, which belonged to the assistant driver of the truck responsible for the bridge collapse,” said Maysan Police Chief Major General Lafta Fakhir in a statement to 964media.

The collapse occurred as the truck attempted to cross the bridge, sending the vehicle and its load into the river. The bodies of the truck driver and the teenage boy were recovered shortly after the incident, but the search for the assistant driver’s body proved more challenging due to the submerged wreckage of the bridge and truck.

“Three teams of divers from the Ministry of Interior joined the rescue operation under the minister’s directive, as the task of recovering the body from under the rubble of the collapsed bridge and the sunken truck was extremely difficult,” Fakhir explained. “This morning, we managed to remove the iron debris and extract the truck, allowing divers to locate and recover the final body.”