Heavy rains in northwestern China triggered a tragic collapse of a bridge on Saturday, resulting in the death of at least 11 people. More than 30 people are missing following the disaster.
The bridge collapsed on Friday due to a severe downpour and sudden floods in the river over which it spanned, located in the city of Shangluo in Shaanxi province, approximately 900 kilometers southwest of Beijing.
According to state television CCTV, nearly 20 vehicles and over 30 people are missing after the catastrophe. Initial investigations reveal that 17 cars and eight trucks fell into the river, raising fears that the death toll could rise in the coming hours.
In pictures from Shangluo, a section of the road can be seen falling into the river, while the lanes in the opposite direction remained intact.
Since Tuesday, vast areas of northern and central China have been affected by heavy rains, leading to floods and substantial damage.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for all efforts to be focused on rescue operations, which are the current priority.
The incident is reminiscent of another that occurred in May in southern China, where a highway collapse caused the death of 48 people.
In the same Shaanxi province, torrential rains caused five deaths and left eight missing in the city of Baoji. Neighboring Gansu province, typically semi-desert, and Henan province in central China, have also been hit by heavy rains this week. In Henan, the city of Nanyang received a year’s worth of rainfall since the start of the week, according to CCTV.
China is experiencing an extreme weather summer, with record high temperatures in the north and intense rain and flooding in the south. Climate change, exacerbated by greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, makes such events more frequent and severe.
China remains at the forefront of construction technology, exemplified by the “Steel Monster,” a machine capable of building bridges in just a few hours. This Segmental Bridge Launching Machine, or SLJ900/32, developed by Wow Joint Machinery Company and the Shijiazhuang Railway Institute, utilizes prefabricated concrete sections that can be quickly installed. Weighing 580 tons and equipped with 64 wheels, it can pivot 90 degrees and is capable of placing up to 730 bridge sections in its lifetime.
This machine also played a key role in creating the Yibin Jinsha River railway bridge, the world’s longest with a central span of 336 meters. Once completed, this infrastructure will reduce travel time from Sichuan to Guizhou to just four hours.
