‘Catastrophic’: Bridge in Norway ‘completely destroyed’

A bridge has collapsed in Norway, sending a car plunging into the water and leaving a truck in an extremely precarious position.

A bridge has “catastrophically” collapsed in southern Norway, with a car plunging into the water and a truck becoming trapped.

The wood and steel Tretten bridge, which opened in 2012, was “completely destroyed” as the car and truck were crossing over it about 7.30am local time on Monday.

The car plunged into the water and the truck remained on the bridge, stuck in a precarious position.

An aerial view shows the collapsed Tretten bridge across the Gudbrandsdalslagen river in the Oyer municipality of southern Norway. Picture: Stian Lysberg Solum/NTB/AFP

A helicopter was rushed to the scene to help in the rescue of the truck driver, while the driver of the car managed to free himself.

The bridge, about 148 metres-long and 10 metres-wide, connected the Gudbrandsdalslaagen River and the village of Tretten.

Local mayor Jon Halvor Midtmageli told local newspaper Dabgladet, “It is completely catastrophic, completely unreal.”

A car plunged into the water and a truck was stuck in a precarious position after the bridge collapsed. Picture: Stian Lysberg Solum/NTB/AFP

“It is completely destroyed, everything has fallen down.”

The bridge was last checked by authorities in 2021 after concerns were raised, the Norwegian Automobile Federation stated, the New York Post reports.

“We who travel on the roads must be able to trust that the bridges are safe to drive on,” NAF spokesman Ingunn Handagard told the Norwegian news agency NTB

An independent investigation into the cause of the collapse should be launched, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration stated.

The administration’s head Ingrid Dahl Hovland said, “It must be safe to drive on Norwegian roads. That is why it is important to get to the bottom of this case.”

Local resident Atle Formo described hearing an “intense crash.”

“The whole house was shaking. I was rolling up the blinds in the bedroom and looked right at a bridge laying in the river,” he told Norwegian broadcaster TV2.

A bridge of a similar design in nearby Sjoa in the Gudbrand valley collapsed in 2016, injuring a driver.