bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Phoebe Zhang

Four people remained missing on Sunday after a railway bridge collapsed in the northwestern Chinese province of Qinghai, killing 12 people.
The central government has sent a task force to investigate the failure, which occurred on a section over the Yellow River at about 3am on Friday, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The report said 16 workers were on the Jianzha Yellow River Super-large Bridge carrying out a tensioning operation when a steel cable snapped.
According to media reports, a resident nearby said he was woken by a loud noise “like an earthquake”.


A surveillance video showed the central part of the bridge falling into the river, and sparks flying off the top of the bridge as the cable broke.
The bridge spans 1.59km (about 1 mile) and its arch is 130 metres (426 feet), or about 40 storeys, above the river.
It has been described as the world’s largest-span double-track railway steel truss arch bridge.
It is part of the Sichuan-Qinghai Railway, a line under construction to connect Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan, with Xining, the capital of Qinghai.

Officials from the State Council’s Work Safety Committee, the Ministry of Emergency Management, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission as well as the National Railway Administration have been sent to the site, according to state news agency Xinhua.
The search and rescue efforts involved more than 800 people and dozens of vehicles, boats and aircraft.
Qinghai Communist Party secretary Wu Xiaojun and Qinghai governor Luo Dongchuan were at the scene.
The Beijing News quoted the party secretary of Changyaoling, a village in central Hubei province, as confirming that four of the workers who died were from the village. The remainder were believed to be migrant workers from other parts of Hubei.
He added that the local government had been in contact with the families of the victims.
Just two months ago, on June 14, the Qinghai Development and Reform Commission had declared that the China Railway Construction Bridge Engineering Bureau Group had completed construction of a temporary steel cable tower frame on the bridge.
The commission said the bridge had a continuous steel truss arch design, with two cable tower frames that stood 100 metres tall and weighed 1,800 tonnes each.
The structure had the longest span of its kind in the world, it said.
“Since construction began in November 2024, 39 segments of the main bridge’s steel truss arch have been completed,” the commission said.
“In the next phase, the project will … proceed with the installation of the remaining steel truss arch segments and the precise placement of the stay cables, ensuring the main bridge achieves closure as scheduled in August this year.”


12 killed after fire hits residential building in southern China’s Shantou city

China-born architect Wang Fei dies in suspected car crash in London

Chinese court orders Malaysia Airlines to pay families of 8 missing MH370 victims

China woman marries rescuer who plucked her from under quake rubble when she was 11

Accidents, extreme weather and disasters in China

Investigation under way into fatal bridge collapse in northwest China’s Qinghai province

The central government has sent officials to investigate a deadly incident on a bridge on the Qinghai section of the Sichuan-Qinghai Railway in northwest China’s Qinghai province on Friday. Photo: Xinhua

A steel cable snapped during a tensioning operation on Friday, according to state media. Photo: Xinhua

Beijing has been hit by deadly floods again. Is it unusual?

Debris piles up in a flooded street in Taishitun, in Beijing’s Miyun district, late last month.  Photo: EPA

Village houses and other buildings are partially submerged after heavy rainfall flooded the area in Beijing’s Miyun district in late July. Photo: Reuters

Riverside houses collapse after heavy rainfall hits southwestern China

Collapse of historic Chinese building’s roof revives concerns about construction standards

The Fengyang Drum Tower recently had extensive repair works done on its roof. Photo: Handout

The collapse of the roof prompted questions about the quality of the repairs. Photo: Handout

China punishes officials over deadly May Day highway collapse in rain-hit Guangdong

A government report into last year’s road collapse along the Meizhou-Dabu highway in Guangdong province has cited “insufficient understanding of the hazards of continuous precipitation”. Photo: Weibo/白菜

News

China

Politics

At least 12 people died when a steel cable snapped during a tensioning operation on the structure


At least 12 people died when a steel cable snapped during a tensioning operation on the structure.


Investigation under way into fatal bridge collapse in northwest China’s Qinghai province

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}At least 12 people died when a steel cable snapped during a tensioning operation on the structure

At least 12 people died when a steel cable snapped during a tensioning operation on the structure