Lorraine Williamson
The Santander footbridge collapse deaths rose to five after a wooden footbridge on the coastal path at El Bocal, on the outskirts of the northern Spanish city, collapsed with a group of walkers on it.
Emergency services said seven people were affected when the structure failed at around 4.30 pm on Tuesday, 3 March, sending them down onto rocks and into the sea below. One person is still missing, and one survivor remains in hospital.
Search teams resumed operations at 8.00 am on Wednesday, working the cliffs, shoreline and water with maritime and air support in difficult terrain.
What we know about the victims so far
Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE reported that the five fatalities were four young women and one young man, with authorities identifying victims from the Basque Country, Cantabria and Almería.
Cadena SER in Cantabria also reported that the group were students from the CIFP La Granja training centre in Heras, on an outing.
A major rescue operation on land, sea and air
The overnight response involved a wide multi-agency deployment, including Salvamento Marítimo, Guardia Civil, firefighters, local police and Red Cross support, with the city opening a civic centre for relatives and providing psychosocial assistance.
The collapsed structure, a wooden walkway between cliff sections on the El Bocal route, has been cordoned off while investigators begin enquiries into how it failed on a well-used stretch of coast.
The immediate focus remains the search for the missing person. After that will come the formal investigation: inspection history, responsibility for maintenance, and whether similar coastal walkways in the area will face urgent safety reviews.