Emergency crews made slow progress yesterday in the hunt for bodies of about 70 people believed killed when an old road bridge collapsed in northern Portugal, plunging a bus and two cars into a river.
Strong winds and currents in the River Douro, scene late on Sunday of Europe's worst road accident in over a decade, hampered recovery work and by late afternoon only three bodies had been pulled from the murky waters.
Two of them were found 3 km downstream.
A senior government minister, Mr Jorge Coelho, said that 70 people were thought to have been aboard the three vehicles that plummeted into the river after an 80-metre span of bridge gave way. The local mayor, Mr Paulo Teixeira, said he believed a total of 77 people had died. "Whole families have been lost," he said. National fire service divers suspended operations shortly before dark because of the risks posed by the fast-flowing water, although teams in boats continued to search the banks for bodies.
Mr Teixeira said he had repeatedly warned the government of the parlous state of the 116-year-old bridge which was built for horse-drawn carts rather than motor vehicles.
Mr Coelho, whose Public Works Ministry is responsible for rail and road transport, announced his resignation from the government.
The Prime Minister, Mr Antonio Guterres, was jeered when he arrived in Castelo de Paiva to witness the recovery operation. The government declared two days of national mourning from today.
Officials said there was little chance that anybody had survived the accident on the bridge which links Castelo de Paiva with Entre-os-Rios, about 30 km east of Oporto.
Around 300 firemen, including divers and other workers, joined the search. They were watched by grieving relatives who huddled in groups on the banks of the swirling river.
The bus, which was carrying 67 passengers, had been on an excursion to the northwestern Tras-os-Montes region to see flowering almond trees. It was on its way back to Castelo de Paiva when disaster struck.
It was unclear how many people were in the cars, but some residents suggested there could have been as many as nine. According to media reports, part of the bridge collapsed after one of its support pillars gave way under the pressure of waters swollen by heavy rain.