According to a statement issued by concessionaire Vial Andina (Coviandina), the incident of 26 November occurred when a movable scaffolding system struck the temporary support system located on a pier. This resulted in the collapse of the entire support structure, disengaging the safety ropes of the five people that were working on the pier at the time.
La Pala Bridge is situated 65km southwest of the Colombian capital and carries Highway 40, the main road between Bogota and the city of Villavicencio.
Following the collapse, the Ministry of Transport demanded that Vial Andina provide an accident report within 24 hours. The report will be evaluated by a commission of engineers and university professors led by the National Roads Institute (Invias).
