Heart-stopping instant: New Chinese bridge crashes into mountainside

A recently inaugurated bridge inChinacollapsed against a mountainside, causing clouds of dust and pieces of concrete to fall into the water ...

A recently inaugurated bridge inChinacollapsed against a mountainside, causing clouds of dust and pieces of concrete to fall into the water below.

Video showing the partial collapse of the Hongqi Bridge in Sichuan province was widely circulated on Chinese social media on Tuesday.

The 2,486ft-long bridge, connecting the nation's central region to Tibet, was shut down by officials a day earlier following the discovery of cracks in its structure and on the surrounding hills and roads.

However, the conditions on the mountainside deteriorated markedly by Tuesday afternoon, causing landslides that resulted in the bridge's collapse, according to officials.

Footage of the alarming event, posted on multiple social media sites, recorded the instant the bridge collapsed and fell into the water beneath.

Massive clouds of dust rose as the heavy concrete collided with the mountainside.

Pieces of the bridge were visible in heaps along the mountain's edge, while the other end of the structure seemed to remain undamaged, standing above the river.

It is remarkable that no injuries were reported after the event.

The bridge's construction was completed only earlier this year, as stated in a social media update from the contractors Sichuan Road and Bridge Group.

Sichuan province is recognized for its significant earthquake occurrences. The highway passes through a region that was severely affected by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, which resulted in almost 70,000 fatalities.

The catastrophe was partially attributed to substandard building practices, as the sudden collapse on Tuesday raised new concerns about whether adequate geological assessments had been conducted.

Local officials are trying to minimize the event, referring to it as a single natural occurrence.

The incident occurred just a few months after another significant event, where a railway bridge being built in Qinghai province collapsed in August, resulting in the death of at least 12 workers.

Completed only in January of this year, the massive Hongqi bridge was a component of China's larger plan to boost economic development in less affluent mountainous areas, serving as a representation of its infrastructure goals.

The nation has made significant investments in constructing roads, highways, and railway networks. In September, China introduced the world's highest bridge located in the adjacent Guizhou province.

The groundbreaking Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge is situated roughly 2,050ft above the Beipan River after a construction period spanning three years and eight months.

It links key tourist attractions in the area and reduces the travel time through the canyon from two hours to just two minutes, as NBC News reported earlier, according to local authorities.

Besides offering a quicker travel route across the canyon, the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge was constructed to enhance tourism and economic development in the area.

A glass coffee shop is located at one of the bridge's highest points, sitting roughly 2,600ft above the river.

Perched on top of one of the towers, visitors can also use a fast elevator to reach the observation deck and take in the panoramic scenery.

Nevertheless, China has encountered growing criticism regarding its deteriorating quality control measures along with the development of major infrastructure projects in regions prone to geological instability.

Officials stated that an alternate route has been established and a probe into the incident is being conducted.

The Sichuan Road and Bridge Corporation, responsible for constructing the bridge, mentioned there is currently no schedule for the highway to reopen.

Read more

• Which major disaster caused a horrifying landslide and bridge failure in Sichuan, resulting in the mountain slope being destroyed?
• In what ways will China's impressive Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge push the boundaries of engineering achievements to unprecedented levels?
• Are you up for the world's highest bridge skywalk? Discover why tourists are drawn to this amazing feat of engineering in China.
• How does China's astonishing Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge reduce travel times while surpassing the famous Eiffel Tower in height?
• What amazing stories of survival came out of Taiwan's most recent earthquake, where ceilings fell and a bridge collapsed?