A section of a newly constructed bridge in eastern China partially collapsed on its opening day, sending shockwaves through the country's infrastructure and leaving authorities scrambling to investigate the cause.
The CCTV footage shows the dramatic moment when the pre-fabricated bridge, which was meant to carry high-speed trains at speeds of up to 300km/h, suddenly gave way, collapsing into a deep ravine. The incident occurred on Monday morning in the Zhejiang province, where the bridge had been open for just hours.
Eyewitnesses described seeing vehicles and pedestrians fleeing the scene as the bridge began to sag. "I was walking across the bridge when I saw it start to shake," one witness said. "The next thing I knew, it was crumbling and people were running everywhere."
Authorities have launched an immediate investigation into the collapse, with officials confirming that 19 people had been rescued from the wreckage so far, but eight remained missing.
This latest incident is a major blow to China's ambitious infrastructure development plans, which aim to upgrade its aging transportation network. The country has invested billions of dollars in new roads, bridges, and high-speed rail lines, with many of these projects now nearing completion.
However, concerns have long been raised about the safety and quality of some of these projects, with critics arguing that shortcuts were taken in the construction process. This latest collapse has sparked renewed fears about China's ability to deliver on its infrastructure promises.
In a statement, officials promised to "get to the bottom" of what caused the collapse and vowed to take swift action to rectify any flaws found in the bridge's design or construction.
The CCTV footage shows the dramatic moment when the pre-fabricated bridge, which was meant to carry high-speed trains at speeds of up to 300km/h, suddenly gave way, collapsing into a deep ravine. The incident occurred on Monday morning in the Zhejiang province, where the bridge had been open for just hours.
Eyewitnesses described seeing vehicles and pedestrians fleeing the scene as the bridge began to sag. "I was walking across the bridge when I saw it start to shake," one witness said. "The next thing I knew, it was crumbling and people were running everywhere."
Authorities have launched an immediate investigation into the collapse, with officials confirming that 19 people had been rescued from the wreckage so far, but eight remained missing.
This latest incident is a major blow to China's ambitious infrastructure development plans, which aim to upgrade its aging transportation network. The country has invested billions of dollars in new roads, bridges, and high-speed rail lines, with many of these projects now nearing completion.
However, concerns have long been raised about the safety and quality of some of these projects, with critics arguing that shortcuts were taken in the construction process. This latest collapse has sparked renewed fears about China's ability to deliver on its infrastructure promises.
In a statement, officials promised to "get to the bottom" of what caused the collapse and vowed to take swift action to rectify any flaws found in the bridge's design or construction.
that this happened on the opening day... I mean, who wouldn't have seen it coming? 
The fact that they're already scrambling to investigate is kinda worrying tho 
. But at the same time, I think we need to be a bit more cautious here... like, how reliable are these pre-fabricated bridges anyway? 
Is this just a case of poor planning and execution or what? 
On one hand, it's a major blow to China's infrastructure plans; on the other hand, maybe we should be questioning the whole concept of giant engineering projects... 
how many people were affected? 19 rescued but 8 missing... what if they're still stuck down there 
? and all this is happening on monday morning, can you imagine waking up to news like that 
anyway, gotta wonder what went wrong with the construction process 
what if it was more people who got hurt or killed ?? I've been following those infrastructure development plans for a while now and I'm still on edge about their safety standards. how can they guarantee that these bridges are gonna hold up to high-speed trains ?? it's just not worth the risk 
my heart goes out to the 8 missing ppl, please let them be okay 
I'm sure the government's gonna get to the bottom of this and make some changes, but it's gotta be a wake-up call for them - shortcuts can't be taken when it comes to safety, no matter how much money's on the line. 
and now ppl r dyin, that's just 2 sad 
. gotta hope dey figger out wht happnd n fix it ASAP 
my heart goes out to them and their families... this incident is a huge concern for China's infrastructure development plans - safety should always be the top priority 
i mean i know ppl are worried about china's infrastructure but idk if thats gonna affect our foodie scene lol what's the most important thing to get right in a bridge design anyway? like, is it the materials or the structure itself? 
... my heart goes out to them. It's also weird that this happened on the opening day - like, what were they thinking? 
?
. I'm glad everyone who was on the bridge got out safely, but 8 people still missing? That's terrifying 
.