Workers escaped injury on the site of a lifting bridge under construction over the Manchester Ship Canal on Monday morning, which suffered a partial collapse. Enquiries into what happened are being conducted by the Health & Safety Executive which is considering an investigation.

 

Reports suggest that a large deck under construction between four pillars fell by around 18m.

 

The bridge forms part of the Western Gateway Infrastructure Scheme, which will see new dual carriageway built beside the M60 Barton Bridge to serve a logistics park at Port Salford.

 

Emergency services arrived shortly after 9.30am but left when it was established that no-one had been injured and everyone was accounted for.

 

Contracting firm Hochtief UK is developing the Western Gateway Infrastructure Scheme alongside its partner Buckingham Group on behalf of the Peel Group. Hocktief said the incident occurred during a planned operation on the new lifting bridge and that an exclusion zone was in place around the bridge, as is standard during this type of work. 

 

A company spokesman added: “A full investigation will now take place and while this investigation is under way we cannot comment further.” A spokesman for the client said it was not making any comments about the incident.

 

Peel Ports, which operates the Manchester Ship Canal, said: "For the time being there will be no movements on the canal in the immediate vicinity of the incident until further notice. We have a marine response team on the ground and are working with the emergency services and all parties involved in the project to assess and minimise the impact on users of the canal."

 

(Photo: @simon19648)