Shocking bridge collapse in Chinese river

A road bridge partially collapsed sending 2 vehicles into a river in south China.

The incident occurred in Heyuan city, Guangdong province, on Friday, June 14, 2019. Some people went missing and one of them was rescued. However, rescue operations are still on-going as the exact number of victims remains unknown.

The bridge was constructed in 1972 and was renovated about 2 years ago. In January, 2019, its integrity was evaluated and any damage found was repaired.

The total length of the bridge is 420 meters spanning across the Dongjiang River. The part that gave way was about 120 meters. The causes of the failure will be thoroughly investigated but heavy rainfalls and floods that struck the region in the past days may have been a triggering factor. According to local media, a reservoir upstream released a large amount of floodwater in the Dongjiang River and the water level rose.

Southern China has suffered critical damage due to storms as 4.5 million people have been affected (61 died and 300,000 were evacuated) and 4,000 residences were destroyed. The extreme weather conditions that hit 249 counties and cities, have caused about $1,95 billion financial damage.

Click the video below to watch the terrifying moment the bridge partially collapses in just few seconds.

Image Source: Straitstimes.com