Hongqi Bridge Collapse: Dramatic Video Shows Massive Landslide in China's Sichuan Province
Image Source: Internet
A devastating landslide in southwest China's Sichuan province has caused a section of the newly constructed Hongqi Bridge to partially collapse. The dramatic incident, captured on video, shows the bridge's concrete structure crumbling into a river as the mountainside beneath it gives way. According to Reuters, the 758-metre-long Hongqi Bridge, a crucial transport link between Sichuan and Tibet, partially collapsed on Tuesday afternoon. Fortunately, there have been no reported casualties so far. The bridge had been closed to traffic on Monday due to cracks and terrain shifts in the surrounding area, but conditions worsened on Tuesday, triggering a massive landslide that destroyed part of the bridge and its approach road. Preliminary investigations suggest that geological instability in the steep mountain region, which has a history of landslides, was the primary cause of the collapse. A detailed technical investigation is underway to determine whether any structural or engineering flaws contributed to the disaster. The incident comes just months after another high-profile infrastructure failure in China, where a railway bridge under construction in Qinghai province collapsed in August, killing at least 12 workers and leaving four others missing. The Hongqi Bridge was completed recently by the Sichuan Road & Bridge Group, and its collapse has raised concerns about the safety and quality of China's infrastructure projects. The local government has assured that a thorough investigation will be conducted to identify the cause of the collapse and prevent similar incidents in the future.
