Under-construction bridge collapses in Beijing, 12 dead, 4 missing
Chinese Bridge Collapse Kills At Least 12 Construction Workers, 4 Missing: A major accident occurred in the northwestern part of China late on Friday night. At least 12 workers died, and four others are still missing after a railway bridge under construction collapsed in China. The accident took place in Qinghai province, where the construction of a railway bridge over a major river was underway. This has also raised questions about China’s construction quality.
The accident happened at 3 o’clock in the night
According to the state news agency ‘Xinhua’, the accident happened at around 3 o’clock in the night. At that time, 16 workers were working on the bridge. During this time, a steel cable broke, due to which all the workers working there fell into the Yellow River. In the pictures released by Xinhua, a large part of the bridge is seen broken and hanging in the river. A major part of the curved blue arch is missing, and one end of the bridge is completely tilted, which shows the seriousness of this terrible accident.
Search for missing people continues
Rescue operations were started immediately after the accident. The missing workers are being searched with the help of boats, helicopters, and underwater robots. So far, the bodies of 12 workers have been recovered, while the search for 4 is still on. Officials said that the rescue work is being done at a fast pace, but difficulties are being faced due to the depth of the river and the strong current.
The bridge was being built 180 feet high
The bridge is 1.6 kilometers long and rises about 55 meters (180 feet) above the river surface, reports China Daily. The bridge is part of an ambitious rail project that was being designed to connect remote areas of western China with the rest of the country.
Officials have launched a detailed investigation into the accident and are trying to find out whether the cable breakage was due to a technical fault or negligence. The local administration has assured to provide assistance to the families of the victims.
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