The investigation into the causes of the collapse of the bridge over the E42 motorway could take a long time, the labour auditor, Sophie Salens, warned on Friday.
On Thursday at around 14:00, a bridge on the E42 that crossed a canal in La Louivière (Wallonia) collapsed. The bridge was under construction at the time of the incident. Twelve people were on-site, four of which were injured and taken to hospital. One of the victims has died, according to the Hainaut-Centre emergency services.
"The case is in the hands of the labour auditor, because it is a work-related accident and there are potentially safety measures that may not have been respected by the employer," explained Salens.
The bridge has been under construction since February 2024. After asbestos removal, the bridge was set to be demolished.
"This construction site involves several parties: the company that won the contract, which subcontracted to another company for the demolition, which itself subcontracted to another company for waste disposal," Salens added.
A court expert specialising in stability was already appointed and visited the site on Thursday and again on Friday morning, according to Salens.
However, the full investigation into the incident is likely to take a long time, the auditor warned. "We need to check all the possibilities that could have caused the collapse of this bridge: the safety measures not taken by the company, inadequate materials, unstable places where the cranes were set up," she stated.
It is currently unclear when works can resume at the site. "The construction site has been shut down as long as there is a risk. It is the forensic engineer specialising in stability who will determine whether there is still a risk of any kind of collapse or whether the construction site can resume work," Salens said.
Traffic on the E42 resumed on Thursday evening. Navigation on the canal, which was due to be interrupted from 6 to 14 March due to the works, will remain suspended until further notice.
While there could be criminal liability involved, the incident could also be purely accidental, at which point a civil court could be involved, Salens explained.
