12 dead, 4 missing after bridge collapses in Qinghai

Twelve people have been confirmed dead and four remain missing as of 6 pm Friday due to a steel cable failure at a bridge construction site in Northwest China's Qinghai province earlier in the day.

The accident occurred around 3 am at the under-construction bridge on the Qinghai section of the Sichuan-Qinghai Railway, where 16 workers were on site at the time, according to Xinhua News Agency. The failure caused a 108-meter steel girder arch rib to collapse.

The Ministry of Emergency Management has promptly dispatched a team to the site to oversee rescue operations and coordinate rescue efforts, focusing on searching for people who fell into the water.

The ministry confirmed that it would determine the cause of the accident as soon as possible, and undertake decisive measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

China Central Television reported more than 806 rescuers have joined search and rescue efforts since the accident happened, with 91 vehicles, 27 boats, one helicopter and five robots deployed. Additionally, six hospitals have opened quick channels to provide medical aid for victims.

As of press time, coordinated rescue operations, as well as efforts to comfort affected families, were ongoing.

The bridge — located at the border between Jainca county in the Huangnan Tibetan autonomous prefecture and Hualong Hui autonomous county in Haidong — is the first steel truss arch railway bridge in China to cross the Yellow River, according to People's Daily.

Qinghai Daily previously reported that two cable towers on either side of the bridge were completed on June 14, with its main bridge originally expected to be joined by the end of this month. The maximum cable force on the side spans of the bridge reaches 1,161 metric tons, equivalent to the weight of 750 small cars, and each tower weighs 1,800 tons, with the largest segment weighing 45 tons. The installation precision of the towers is directly related to the safety and success of the subsequent steel support beam, it said.

Public information shows that the bridge, one of the key projects of its type on the Sichuan-Qinghai Railway, has a length of over 1,596 meters, with the arch's apex standing 130 meters above the water's surface, equivalent to the height of more than 40 stories. Its deck is 55 meters above the Yellow River's surface.