<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On October 15, 1970, a huge concrete section of the West Gate Bridge in Melbourne collapsed, killing 35 workers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The tragedy began just before noon when tradesmen working on the steel structure spanning the Yarra River heard a thunderous crack.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Moments later, a 122-metre-long span of the bridge fell out of the sky, dragging a support column down with it.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/melbourne-cbd-arrest-man-with-firearm-arrested-after-alleged-car-jackings/21ee0e69-1b4c-49ae-bb75-4904293f2769" rel="" target="_blank" title="Man charged after alleged carjacking rampage in Melbourne"><strong><span>Man charged after alleged carjacking rampage in Melbourne</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Two thousand tonnes of steel and concrete smashed into the tidal creek bed, spraying mud and shattering glass for hundreds of metres, and killing workers below.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Survivor Tommy Watson, a 23-year-old steel rigger at the time, told 9news.com.au in 2020, the impact "felt like an earthquake had struck".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The devastation also triggered a fire from a diesel storage unit, horrifically killing those who had survived the collapse.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-october-15-what-happened-on-this-day/d219f7bf-aa9c-4253-b447-6967076a4ccc" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Nearby tradesmen who escaped the carnage began rescue efforts by manning cranes to lift debris clear and using oxyacetalane torches to cut through steel that was trapping workers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>''People were yelling for us to help, but we couldn't get near them because the heat was just so bad,'' Watson said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When emergency services arrived, they continued their efforts, working into the night to find survivors of what turned out to be Australia's deadliest workplace disaster.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-weather-update-south-eastern-temperatures-vary-wildly/8390caa8-e0e2-447f-ac56-00d77c6f10cf" target="_blank"><strong><span>Whip-sawing temperatures to see millions bake while others freeze</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>Accident waiting to happen</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Construction of the West Gate Bridge started in early 1968 and, two-and-a-half years later, the two sides of the bridge finally met in the middle.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, engineers realised there was a problem: the north part was 11 centimetres higher than the other.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In an attempt to correct the problem, the higher side of the bridge was loaded with 10 giant concrete blocks weighing eight tonnes each, to try and push that side down to the correct height.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But it caused a buckle in the bridge that triggered the deadly collapse.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A royal commission set up to investigate the disaster found the project's chief engineers and managers were responsible for shoddy safety standards.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In the wake of the bridge collapse, unions launched national campaigns to improve workplace safety, prompting the creation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But survivors faced a lifetime of tragic memories of that day. In the aftermath, many tradies working on the bridge were laid off and forced to rely on meagre compensation public donations. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The West Gate Bridge was rebuilt with a new design and improved safety features. It finally opened in 1978, and is used by tens of thousands of motorists.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span></span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/today-in-history" target="" title="For more from our Today in History archive, click here."><strong><span>For more from our Today in History archive, click here</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank" title=""><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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