Death toll rises to 12 in northwestern China bridge incident, 4 missing

By Berk Kutay Gokmen

ISTANBUL (AA) – The death toll rose to 12 and four others remain missing after a construction cable broke early Friday at a bridge construction site in northwestern China, South China Morning Post reported on Sunday.

The incident occurred at the Yellow River bridge on the Sichuan-Qinghai Railway in Qinghai province.

By 2 pm (0600GMT) Friday, 806 rescuers with 91 vehicles, 27 boats, a helicopter and five robots were deployed, while six hospitals opened fast-track treatment channels, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency.

Rescuers focused on finding the missing, treating the injured and supporting families. The Ministry of Emergency Management sent a team to direct operations, verify those affected and mobilize specialists.

It also called for a swift investigation into the cause to prevent similar accidents.

The bridge, located at the border between Jianzha county in the Huangnan Tibetan autonomous region and Hualong Hui autonomous county in Haidong, Qinghai, is the first steel truss arch railway bridge in China to cross the Yellow River.

Construction of the bridge’s cable towers was completed on June 14, with the joining of the structures scheduled for this month.