Finnish pupils hurt when footbridge falls

ESPOO: Some 27 young people, mostly children, were injured in Finland yesterday when a temporary footbridge near a construction site collapsed and they fell several metres onto a road, officials said.

The accident occurred in Espoo, near Helsinki, when wooden planks are believed to have given way and the group fell 5m to 6m onto the carriageway of the small side road.

Most of the injured were pupils aged 14 or 15, on a school field trip, city officials said. Their teacher was among the injured. Twentyfour people were taken to various hospitals in the Helsinki region. No one had life-threatening injuries

The cause of the collapse was being investigated. |