Videos circulating on U.S and Chinese social medias show the collapse of a major section of the Hong bridge in Sichuan, China, just months after completion.
The bridge is located in the mountainous region of Maerkang city, Sichuan province, and is part of a national highway linking central China to Tibet. The collapse was triggered by landslides and worsening geological conditions on the nearby mountainside. Authorities had detected cracks and other faults in the slopes and road surface the day prior.
There were no reported casualties. Local police and transport bureaus had closed the 758-meter-long bridge to all traffic on Monday afternoon in anticipation of the danger, after noticing significant shifts in the terrain and cracks in the roadbed.
Construction of the bridge was finished earlier this year completed around January and opened to traffic in September, making its lifespan only a few months.
An investigation into the cause of the collapse, including whether sufficient geological surveys were conducted in the seismically active region, has been launched.
The incident has raised concerns over infrastructure safety and construction quality in China's mountainous regions. The contractor, government-backed Sichuan Road & Bridge Group, removed promotional materials about the bridge from its website following the collapse.
