Police: 24 people, many of them children, hurt in bridge collapse in Finland

HELSINKI (AP) — Two dozen people, many of them schoolchildren, were injured when a temporary pedestrian bridge collapsed in the southern Finnish city of Espoo on Thursday, police and media said.

Police said the bridge crossing a construction site in Espoo’s Tapiola region collapsed mid-morning. No one was killed, but 24 people were injured, 10 of them seriously. Espoo is a neighboring city of the capital, Helsinki.

“Several people fell a few meters when the bridge collapsed. The situation is being investigated,” police said in a statement.

Helsinki University Hospital said it received 15 of those injured.

“The injuries are mostly extremity fractures,” the hospital said in a statement, adding that the injured belonged to a school group.

Finnish President Sauli Niinistö tweeted: “Shocking news about an accident in Tapiola. Providing support and help now important.”

Police are conducting a technical investigation in the area and the possible causes for the accident are being probed.