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N0KFQ > TODAY 17.06.16 16:37l 44 Lines 1716 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 96943_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Jun 17
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<ZL2BAU<N0KFQ
Sent: 160617/1421Z 96943@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.65
1958
Bridge collapses, killing workers
On this day in 1958, a bridge being built to connect eastern and
northern Vancouver in western Canada collapses, killing 59
workers. The bridge, known as the Second Narrows Bridge, was
finally completed in 1960 and, in 1996, it was renamed
Ironworkers Memorial Bridge to commemorate the people who lost
their lives during its construction. The disaster was the worst
involving a bridge in Canada's history.
The bridge was being assembled by Dominion Bridge Company over
the Burrard Inlet and was 175 feet above the water at its highest
point. At 3:40 p.m., one of the structure's steel spans buckled
suddenly, causing the entire structure to collapse. There were 79
workers, almost a third of them painters, on the bridge at the
time. Most were earning $3.85 an hour, about $25 in today's
money.
Twenty people survived the long fall, with fishermen pulling them
from the water. Colin Glendinning, a worker who survived the
collapse, recalled the fall, You know what I was thinking? `Oh
God, I wish I had a parachute' _ I really did. The fall tore off
Glendinning's ear, broke his leg, and permanently damaged his
lungs. He later returned to work on the bridge, only to break his
other leg a year later.
A subsequent inquiry blamed the tragedy on a calculating error by
one of the engineers who lost their lives in the collapse.
However, some survivors believed that sub-standard construction
materials were to blame.
A vigil honoring the victims is still held at the bridge every
June 17.
73 - K.O., n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
Winlink: n0kfq@winlink.org
E-Mail : kohiggs@gmail.com
Message timed: 09:20 on Jun 17, 2016
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