Death toll from bridge collapse in China rises to 38 as two dozen still missing
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The death toll has risen to 38 from the partial collapse of a highway bridge in northwestern Shaanxi province[1] two weeks ago that plunged two dozen vehicles into a rushing river, China[2]‘s state broadcaster CCTV reported Friday evening. The report said 24 people were still missing from the July 19 disaster, after which one person was saved.
The area where the bridge on the Danning highway fell had experienced heavy rains in the preceding days. At least 25 cars fell into the river, according to CCTV, and teams have searched kilometers (miles) downstream looking for victims. A photo released by the Xinhua[3] news agency shortly after the incident showed a section of the bridge snapped and folded at almost a 90-degree angle into the rushing brown water below.
The river passes through a mountain valley and the waters are turbulent, the report said. The collapse has raised questions about the safety of China’s road and bridge infrastructure, which was built rapidly in recent decades. A similar collapse in May in Guangdong province killed 36 people.
Rains intensified by climate change have caused a series of landslides and flooding across Asia. In China this week, 48 deaths were attributed to Typhoon Gaemi[4], which had weakened to a tropical storm when it reached the inland, southern province of Hunan. Sichuan’s hardest-hit Hanyuan county has seen both roads and communications infrastructure damaged or destroyed, complicating rescue efforts, and teams had been working since dawn to restore connectivity and clear debris from highways.
From record-breaking heatwaves[5] to unprecedented rainfall, China has been facing increasing numbers of extreme weather events in recent years, testing the country’s ability to cope[6] with the impact of the climate crisis[7]. Almost a year’s worth of rain pounded a small town in Henan. It recorded 606.7mm (24 inches) of rainfall in Dafengying over a 24 hour-period, the most anywhere in China, according to national weather forecasters.
That compares with the average annual rainfall of 800mm in the area.
Changing rainfall patterns coincide with a dramatic decline in the country’s economic expansion, which in past decades has seen China build a huge network of motorways, high-speed railways and airports across even the country’s most remote districts.
The economic slowdown means officials and industries are cutting corners to try and continue expanding this network, leading to a proliferation of poor-quality infrastructure and poor safety supervision.
References
- ^ collapse of a highway bridge in northwestern Shaanxi province (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ China (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ Xinhua (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ Typhoon Gaemi (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ record-breaking heatwaves (www.independent.co.uk)
- ^ the country’s ability to cope (www.reuters.com)
- ^ climate crisis (www.independent.co.uk)