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| China Bridge collapse |
Fireworks blamed for China bridge collapse
THE collapse of a bridge on an expressway in central China was likely caused by an explosion on a lorry carrying fireworks, a local official has said as state media reports the death toll is 11.
The accident on Friday sent an 80-metre stretch of viaduct crashing
to the ground and left the twisted remains of cars and lorries scattered
among the rubble, once again raising questions over the safety of
China's infrastructure.
State television network CCTV today said
11 people had been killed in the accident and four arrested because the
lorry was not permitted to carry explosives.
An official with the
Sanmenxia municipality's public security bureau named Zhang said
rescuers using equipment to search for any more survivors had not
detected any signs of life, warning that the toll could rise further.
''There are still vehicles buried in the rubble and we'll need heavy lifting equipment to get them out,'' he said.
State-run China National Radio initially said on Friday that 26
people had been killed, but the report could not later be found on its
website, after local authorities in Henan province called the figure
''inexplicable''.
Pictures of the accident showed tangled
wreckage beneath the bridge, including three upturned lorries with their
wheels pointing skywards, as rescue workers in orange uniforms scaled
the wreckage.
A crowd of people peered at the debris through
thick hazy fog as another lorry teetered on the mangled edge of the
bridge's collapsed section.
A new bridge appeared to be under construction right next to the collapsed section.
The
bridge near the city of Sanmenxia is on the G30 expressway, the longest
road in China, which stretches for nearly 4400 kilometres from China's
western border with Kazakhstan to the eastern Yellow Sea.
It
stands 30 metres above the ground, media reported. According to police
statistics, around 70,000 people die and 300,000 more are injured in
road accidents every year in China, state media have reported.
