A boat crashed into a bridge and sank in seconds as crew members leapt into the river.
The authorities said the accident was reportedly caused by “a loss of control by the ship’s captain”.
The vessel, operating as a tugboat, slammed into a bridge pillar and quickly capsized.
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Four crew members were on board the boat as it sank into the Magdalena River in northern Colombia on Monday afternoon (16 Feb).
Footage showed at least two workers stranded in the water as the river currents swept the capsized vessel away.
It crashed into the Guillermo Gaviria Correa Bridge, which connects the city of Barrancabermeja in Santander Department with Yondó in Antioquia Department.
Witnesses described the sinking as “shocking” due to the speed in which the tugboat disappeared, as reported by Need To Know.
Nearby vessels and Colombian Navy boats arrived quickly on the scene to rescue the crew members and no injuries were reported.
Eduardo Ramírez Alipio, acting director of Risk Management for Barrancabermeja, said the tugboat had departed minutes earlier from the Yuma river port.
“A river incident occurred involving a tugboat from the company Trimeca, which minutes earlier had departed from the Yuma river port bound for the company Indicon.”
He added: “What the Navy, who rescued the crew members, has told us is that there was a loss of control on the part of the ship’s captain, which resulted in the vessel colliding with one of the pillars of the Guillermo Gaviria Correa Bridge.
“There were no fatalities or injuries, only material losses.”
The authorities have begun assessing the damage to the bridge.
They have also launched an investigation into the cause of the tugboat accident.
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