Two bridge inspectors who had been left suspended in a bucket beneath the Sakonnet River Bridge early Monday afternoon when their boom truck overturned have been rescued.
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PORTSMOUTH/TIVERTON — Two bridge inspectors who had been left suspended in a bucket beneath the Sakonnet River Bridge early Monday afternoon when their boom truck overturned have been rescued.
The two were pulled to safety after Aetna Bridge Company dispatched a second boom truck. Rescuers were sent over the edge in that truck’s bucket and managed to pull the two trapped inspectors to safety by 2:49 p.m.
Both men were transported by rescue for observation.
Traffic remained shut down in both directions for nearly four hours, until the bridge was re-opened shortly before 5 p.m.
As of 2 p.m., two men in the truck’s bucket remained suspended below the bridge as rescuers considered possibly lowering them to a boat below. In the meantime, a heavy wrecker was dispatched from Tiverton and Aetna Bridge Co. was sending equipment of its own.
Among those on scene was a boat from Little Compton and other boats from Swansea and Somerset. No boats are belng allowed to pass underneath.
The R.I. Turnpike and Bridge Authority issued a statement about the incident Monday afternoon:
"Today an incident occurred on the Sakonnet River Bridge during a routine bridge inspection. A private contractor hired by the Authority was inspecting underneath the bridge deck using a machine known as an Under Bridge Inspection (UBI) vehicle, commonly known as a ‘Snooper.' This type of vehicle has an arm that extends out and under the bridge to facilitate inspections.
"For reasons yet to be known, the vehicle malfunctioned and tipped over while two workers were conducting the inspection leaving them stranded in the vehicle’s bucket. At this time, the Authority believes that all safety protocols and procedures were followed prior to the malfunctioning of the equipment.
"The Authority immediately notified public safety officials and called in another UBI vehicle to rescue the two stranded workers. This required the closing of the Sakonnet River Bridge to all traffic while the Authority and public safety officials undertook the rescue operation; which was ultimately successful. We are thankful to all public safety first responders for acting quickly and that the workers are safe.
"Safety is our number one priority at the Authority and we will undertake a thorough internal investigation into this matter and fully cooperate with any other agency’s investigation into how this incident occurred including OSHA."
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