Three workers fell 100 feet from the Interstate 430 bridge in North Little Rock as the scaffolding platform they were on collapsed on Wednesday. They were swallowed by the swollen Arkansas River. One of them was killed and the other two are presumed dead, authorities said.

The body of one of the workers was recovered about 8 hours after the incident. Rescue divers couldn’t enter the waters of the Arkansas River due to the fact that the currents were too swift for them to search the bodies. The river is swollen from the recent heavy rain showers and this will very probably delay the search operation for the two missing workers.

The names of the three workers weren’t released by authorities. They were working on a project to install two sections of 30-inch-diameter waterlines under and across the I-430 bridge.

An investigation carried out by the inspectors of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said a spokesman for the Pulaski County sheriff's office according to The Associated Press.

Charles Jackson, a co-worker at the project who knew the three men, said that he had been on the platform that morning and didn’t notice any safety problems. The workers were employed by Oscar Renda Contracting Inc. of Roanoke, Texas.

"They were cheerful guys. Trying to make a living like everybody else," said Jackson.

There was a lot of weight on the platform – the workers, two generators and a welding machine – but it should have hold, said Little Rock Fire Department Capt. Jason Weaver.

The project of installing the two sections of 30-inch-diameter waterlines under and across the bridge will increase the capacity to deliver water to systems on the north side of the river.

Authorities closed two of the three northbound traffic lanes on Interstate 430 and used a crane to raise the platform out of the water.