Six dead, 10 missing as bridge collapses in China

Six people have died and 10 others remain missing after a bridge under construction collapsed on Friday in northwest China, according to state media reports.

Video released by state broadcaster CCTV captured the moment the middle section of the bridge’s arch suddenly gave way, crashing into the waters of the Yellow River. State news agency Xinhua attributed the collapse to the failure of a steel cable.

The People’s Daily reported that 15 workers and a project manager were on-site when the accident happened. The newspaper had earlier given the death toll as seven but later corrected it to six.

The bridge, which forms part of the Sichuan-Qinghai Railway, is described as the world’s largest-span double-track continuous steel truss arch bridge, and notably, the first railway steel truss arch bridge to span the Yellow River, the nation’s second longest river.

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Photographs carried by state media showed the incomplete bridge with its middle section missing, flanked by towering scaffolds and several cranes. Xinhua said hundreds of rescue workers have been deployed to the scene for search and recovery efforts.

China has seen frequent industrial accidents, often blamed on weak safety standards and enforcement. In December last year, 13 workers went missing after a cave-in at a major railway construction site in Shenzhen, with no survivors found.

AFP

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