Bridge collapses in China’s Sichuan just months after opening

A newly opened bridge collapsed in China’s southwestern province of Sichuan on Tuesday (November 11). The collapsed bridge was part of a key highway link built to ease travel between China’s inland Sichuan and the Tibetan Plateau.
Local authorities said the landslide was caused by a weak mountain slope and a section of the bridge collapsed. No one was injured in the incident. China Central Television reported that the intensity of the landslide caused the road surface and the bridge entrance to collapse in the area.
The local government also said that police in Markang city had closed the 758-meter-long Hongqi Bridge to all vehicles after the accident. Earlier, cracks appeared on the nearby slope and road, and some changes were observed in the surface of the mountain.
The situation near the mountain deteriorated yesterday afternoon, causing the approach bridge and the road to collapse in the landslide. A video posted on social media by the contractor Sichuan Road and Bridge Group has already gone viral. The construction of the bridge, which was completed earlier this year, was reportedly completed earlier this year.