appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

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

json

Mimi Lau

Eight people were killed and three others were injured when the wooden cover on a footbridge collapsed during gale-force winds on Friday in Zhejiang province, eastern China.
Witnesses said the village of Hezuo in Tonglu county, rural Hangzhou, had been battered by heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong wind from around 8pm, The Beijing News reported on Saturday.
“I rushed over there right after it happened and the entire wooden cover had been blown off – it was in pieces and some of it was lying under the bridge,” one local resident said.
“People were crying – there were more than 10 people trapped under the debris.”

Officials from the Tonglu government on Saturday said gale-force winds travelling at 24 metres per second had brought down the structure.
“The intensity of the wind speed was approaching category 10 [with hurricane force at 12]. Hezuo has never seen anything over an 8. This is the first time the village has experienced such extreme weather,” Chen Bin, head of the county weather bureau, was quoted as saying.
6 killed in Country Garden construction site collapse in eastern China
The bridge, which was used by pedestrians and cyclists, was built in 1984 and given a wooden cover in 2016 at a cost of 200,000 yuan (US$29,000), local officials said.
Village residents told the newspaper that concrete railings on the bridge had been removed when it was renovated in 2016.

The deputy director of a Tonglu hospital said most of the eight people who died had suffered chest injuries, rib fractures and head trauma. A 50-year-old woman and two men, aged 49 and 57, were all in stable condition in hospital, according to the report.
Watch: 65 villagers rescued after flooding destroys local roads and bridges in Beijing suburb
Authorities have put up a temporary structure for locals to cross the river 300 metres from the bridge, which has been sealed off, the newspaper said.


By voicing their needs, Chinese women are normalising them

The winners from China’s growing intercity football rivalries may surprise you

Chinese youth are embracing Ching Ming with cultural confidence

Growing Pains meets the ‘kill line’: a new Chinese hot take on the American dream

China society

Roof of wooden bridge in China collapses from strong winds, killing eight

Rescuers search the site where a wooden cover collapsed on a footbridge in the village of Hezuo, eastern China. Photo: Xinhua

(180728) -- TONGLU, July 28, 2018 (Xinhua) -- Rescuers work at the accident site in Tonglu County, Hangzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, July 28, 2018. Eight people were confirmed dead and three others injured Friday after the top of a lounge bridge in Zhejiang collapsed, local authorities said. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi) (wyo)

Roof of wooden bridge in China collapses from strong winds, killing eight

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Village in rural Hangzhou battered by category 10 winds

Village in rural Hangzhou battered by category 10 winds