A green iron railing was the only thing that kept a flatbed truck from falling five storeys from a Regional Road bridge onto a road yesterday.

There are no crash barriers along the bridge where the accident happened and the retaining wall is made up of concrete pillars joined together by two green metal bars and a concrete slab on the top.

According to a Civil Protection Department official, one of the iron railings punctured the tyre on the driver’s side causing the truck to twist and preventing it from going over.

In fact, while the front passenger side protruded well out into mid-air, the driver’s side was closer to the road. This gave the two men on board the chance to escape through the window as other motorists held onto the back part of the truck to act as a counterbalance.

The owner of the aluminium company, Andrew Vassallo, who was on site, said the driver applied the brakes just before the first hump that marks the start of the bridge.

“The truck, which was carrying glass panes, skidded to one side and then bounced off to the other. The wet surface is already bad but the poor road finishing makes matters worse,” Mr Vassallo said.