Yesterday morning, strong currents brought down the Motagua River bridge, leaving Honduras and Guatemala totally cutoff from one another.

Omoa Mayor, Ricardo Alvarado, expressed concern about the large impact on trade, tourism and Honduras’ economy that the damaged bridge will have. This is the only point where vehicles are driven to complete trade between both countries. Mayor Alvarado said he has already communicated with Mayor David Pineda of Puerto Barrios, in Guatemala, who said that they are speaking with the country’s President, Álvaro Colom, to start work on a temporary bridge.

The director of Soptravi northwest, Gerardo Galeano, said that some 50 meters of the bridge fell into the river because some of the supports yielded to the large amounts of rain that have fallen in the area over the past five days. The structure is in Guatemalan territory, so the neighboring authorities are responsible to rebuild it. “But we consent to cooperate to enable the passage again,” he said.

The installation of a temporary bridge would cost about half a million Honduras Lempiras.

Many people in Guatemala and Honduras are affected, as they cannot return home with their vehicles. Some did choose to return, and preferred to risk crossing the river in boats without using any safety measures.

The system of optical fiber communication was also affected by the partial collapse of the bridge. Technicians are working in the area to restore communications.