2 Killed as Bridge Beam Falls at Construction Site in Western Japan

HYOGO, JAPAN - APR. 22: Two workers died and eight others were injured Friday when a 113-meter-long, 1,350-ton bridge beam under construction above a national route in Kobe, western Japan, fell to the road about 20 meters below, police and firefighters said. The two men, both in their 30s, and the eight others were among 30 workers engaged in construction of bridges of the Shin-Meishin Expressway scheduled to be completed by February next year. The bridge beam is believed to have fallen around 4:30 p.m. while it was being lifted by a crane. There were no reports that any vehicles running on National Route 176 had been affected by the accident.