NDDC Probes Otuogori Bridge Accident As Contractor Confirms Worker Injured

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has commenced an investigation into an accident at the ongoing 600-metre Otuogori Bridge project in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, after reports circulated on social media that the bridge had collapsed.

The contractor handling the project, Jillian Group of Companies, said a worker sustained injuries when a belt used to position a bridge beam snapped during construction, causing the beam to slide and strike other beams.

NDDC officials and journalists inspected the site on Monday to assess the incident and establish the circumstances surrounding the accident.

Speaking during the inspection, the NDDC State Director in Bayelsa, Engr. Godknows Alamieyeseigha, said the commission had begun an on-the-spot assessment.

He dismissed suggestions that the incident resulted from structural failure, describing it as an accident that occurred during construction.

Alamieyeseigha expressed confidence in the contractor’s ability to address the damage and complete the project, adding that the commission would make its findings public after concluding its preliminary investigation.

The Managing Director of Jillian Group of Companies, Engr. Christian Omiezor, said the bridge was still at the preparatory stage, explaining that the contractor had yet to complete the structure.

According to him, the accident occurred while workers were positioning beams on their bearings before they could be permanently secured.

“We are constructing a 600-metre bridge, but as you can see, we have not constructed a bridge yet. What you are seeing is just preparations for the bridge,” he said.

“What was going on was the launching of the beams, and in the process, there was a slight accident. Because the beam was resting on a bearing and had not been secured, it could slide. That was what happened. The good thing is that, with the safety measures put in place, no life was lost.”

However, a company representative in charge of the pile section, Engr. Abdul Eric, confirmed that one of the workers was injured and was receiving medical attention.

Eric explained that the accident occurred after a beam was repositioned because it was not properly seated on its support.

He said the crane was being lowered to allow workers to remove its bed from the supporting structure when the belt snapped, causing the beam to slide and hit other beams.

“In the process of lowering the bed, the belt cut, and the beam slid and fell on the other beams and seats,” he said.

He added that the beam began swinging after the belt snapped, striking another beam and causing further damage.

“One of our workers is in the hospital. He is not too bad; he can walk, talk and move. The doctor said it would depend on when he would give us a paper for him to come back to the site,” Eric said.

He also dismissed reports that the bridge had collapsed into the river or that people travelling on the water had been trapped or drowned.

According to him, the affected section was about 100 metres from the river, while the damaged beams were approximately 25 metres long.

“There is nothing like a bridge falling on persons in the river. From here to the river is about 100 metres away from us. How will the bridge fall into the river? If the beam is 25 metres, how will it cross to the river?” he asked.

The company’s structural engineer and Community Liaison Officer, Engineer Dr. Righteous Gilbert Damini, said the accident damaged the beams but did not compromise the bridge’s underlying structure.

Damini explained that construction had progressed from the abutment to Pier One and Pier Two, while the incident occurred during the positioning of beams between Pier Two and Pier Three.

He said the project was being executed in stages and that concrete slabs, reinforcement and transverse beams required to provide additional support had yet to be installed at the affected section.

“Basically, the structure is intact. The main things that were damaged were the beams. There’s no other thing that has been damaged on this bridge,” he said.

The structural engineer said the company had discarded the damaged beams instead of attempting to repair them, adding that replacement beams were already available at the site.

He said the contractor was making arrangements to reposition the bearings and resume the installation of replacement beams, expressing optimism that work would resume within the week.

Meanwhile, Mike Apango, who recorded and circulated the video of the incident on social media, appealed to Nigerians and the NDDC to forgive him for the description he used in presenting the incident.

Apango, who said he was on a barge near the construction site when the accident occurred at about 9am, explained that he witnessed the belt snap and the beams fall against one another.

He said he had not intended to misrepresent the incident but acknowledged that his description created the impression that the bridge itself had collapsed.

“It was not intentional. The belt was cut; it was not that the bridge fell. When the belt got cut, the beam hit another one, and that one hit another. That was what caused the accident,” he said.

Apango, who identified himself as a teacher, said he recorded the incident because he lived and slept on a tugboat around the project site and wanted to draw attention to what had happened.

The 600-metre Otuogori Bridge is an ongoing NDDC project expected to improve connectivity for residents of Otuogori and neighbouring communities in Ogbia Local Government Area.