In Guangzhou on Thursday morning, a tragic accident unfolded as a cargo ship collided with a bridge, causing five vehicles, including a public bus, to fall into the Pearl River. Regrettably, two lives were lost, one person sustained injuries, and three individuals are currently missing, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
Dramatic footage aired by CCTV depicted the aftermath, revealing a fractured section of the bridge with the ship wedged beneath it. Fortunately, the vessel was not carrying any cargo at the time of the incident. The exact cause of the accident remains unclear. The event took place around 5:30 AM local time, disrupting morning traffic and sparking shock throughout the city, according to sources.
A cargo ship rammed into Lixinsha Bridge (沥心沙大桥) over the Pearl River in Wanqingsha Town (万顷沙镇), Nansha District, Guangzhou, at around 5:30am Feb 22. A whole section of the bridge is gone and several vehicles fell into the river.
The cargo ship was traveling from… pic.twitter.com/YY3o1sQRUc
— Byron Wan (@Byron_Wan) February 22, 2024
Emergency response teams are actively engaged in search and rescue operations, striving to locate the missing individuals. Concerns have arisen regarding the condition of the bridge, which was reportedly due for upgrades. Plans for its improvement had been postponed three times, raising questions about potential infrastructure issues contributing to the tragedy.
The captain of the cargo ship, en route from Foshan’s Nanhai district to Nansha, has been detained, according to a report from the Beijing News, citing a local legislative representative.
Efforts to reinforce the bridge, crucial for connecting Guangzhou to other Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities like Zhongshan and Shenzhen, began in 2022 due to safety concerns. However, the city’s transportation department has encountered multiple delays, pushing back the completion date for collision prevention and reinforcement work from August 2022 to the same month this year.
Nansha, situated at the southern end of Guangdong province, plays a significant role in technological advancement within the GBA, a government initiative aimed at integrating 11 southern Chinese cities into a formidable economic hub.
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