Section of new bridge collapses in China’s Sichuan province
No casualties reported as officials note that a crack in the bridge and slope led to traffic closure a day before the incident
A section of a newly opened bridge collapsed in a mountainous area of Sichuan province in southwestern China on Tuesday, with no casualties reported.
Videos circulating on social media showed part of the Shuangjiangkou Hongqi Bridge over a river in the city of Maerkang give way, unleashing a thick cloud of dust and debris.
The bridge was completed in January this year but officials denied that the collapse was a result of poor construction. Authorities in Maerkang and the wider Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture attributed the failure to a landslide at one end of the bridge.
The bridge had been closed to traffic a day before the collapse after local authorities identified a 10cm (4-inch) crack in the structure, the government said, adding that there were no casualties.
Investigators have been sent to the site to determine the cause of the failure.