On Thursday, Chinese state media reported a tragic incident in the Pearl River Delta near Guangzhou city, where two individuals lost their lives, and three are currently unaccounted for. The unfortunate event unfolded when a barge collided with a bridge over the Hongqili Waterway, causing a section of the bridge to collapse and vehicles to plunge into the water. According to the Guangzhou Maritime Safety Administration’s WeChat social media account, the barge was en route from Foshan City to a southern district of Guangzhou when the collision occurred at 5:30 a.m. (2130 GMT).
Images on state-owned CCTV showed an empty container barge between two columns of the Lixinsha Bridge with part of the bridge’s two-lane road deck missing. All road traffic on the bridge was halted. Two cars fell off the bridge, plunging into the water and ending up on top of the ship, while a bus ended up on the bridge, and only its driver could be contacted, according to CCTV.
The Guangzhou Maritime Safety Administration said the accident occurred because the container barge hit a bridge pier, causing a part of the bridge to collapse. It also caused other bridge parts to fall off, damaging several vehicles. Thousands of vehicles use the bridge daily to cross over the waterway, a crucial transportation route for residents living on nearby Sanmin Island. The bridge was built in 2004. It was hit by a cargo ship in October 2021, and authorities identified the need to strengthen the bridge. However, plans to upgrade the bridge have been postponed several times.
The Guangzhou Deputy Mayor, Li Zhongqi, said in a speech on Thursday that the tragedy was a reminder of how fragile our artificial structures are and how important it is to maintain their safety. Li said the city will learn from this incident and use it to pave the way for a safer and more resilient future.
As the world faces natural and artificial disasters, communities must prioritize the safety of their citizens and invest in resilience, the UN warned on Thursday. The organization said that the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, adopted in 1997, sets a goal of reducing vulnerability to disasters, and all nations and regions must implement it.
The bridge, in the Nansha district of Guangzhou, spans a busy shipping channel and is one of the busiest ports in China. The port is on the Pearl River Delta, one of the country’s largest economic zones. The city lies around 90 kilometers northwest of Hong Kong. Hundreds of ships pass through the port every day. Guangzhou is home to many large container ports and a growing number of inland waterway ports. It is a central logistics hub and a leading industrial and commercial center. It is also a thriving tourist destination, hosting the 2010 Asian Games and the 2022 Expo.
