Part of a recently opened bridge in China’s southwestern Sichuan province collapsed on Tuesday along a national highway connecting the country’s heartland with Tibet, according to local authorities cited by Reuters. No casualties were reported.
Footage from the state-run Global Times showed massive clouds of dust rising from the river beneath the bridge after the collapse.
Police in Maerkang city had already closed the 758-meter-long Hongqi Bridge to traffic on Monday afternoon after cracks were detected on nearby slopes and roads, and ground movement was observed on a nearby mountain, the local government said.
By Tuesday afternoon, conditions on the mountainside deteriorated further, triggering landslides that caused the approach bridge and roadbed to give way.
The bridge had only been completed earlier this year, according to a video posted by the contractor, Sichuan Road & Bridge Group, on social media.
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