Four construction workers were killed and two seriously injured when a bridge collapsed in Russia's western exclave of Kaliningrad on Tuesday, the Interfax news agency reported.
"The tragedy occurred this morning while workers were dismantling the old Berlin Bridge. According to preliminary information, the structural support collapsed," the news agency quoted Svetlana Postavnichaya, a spokeswoman for the local police, as saying.
As a team of emergency workers attempted to retrieve the bodies from the wreckage, the Investigative Committee launched a criminal investigation into the incident. The violation of safety regulations leading to the deaths of two or more people carries up to seven years in prison, TASS news agency reported.
The bridge, erected by German builders in 1938 and partially destroyed during World War II, had not been in use since the opening last year of a new bridge over the Pregolya River, Russian media reported.
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