5 Dead After Barge Collides With Bridge Near Guangzhou, China

Five individuals were killed after a barge and a bridge over a waterway collided in the Pearl River Delta, close to Guangzhou city of China. The collision forced a portion of the bridge to come off, sending vehicles straight into the water.

According to a statement from the Guangzhou Maritime Safety Administration, the barge collided with the bridge at about 5:30 a.m. on the Hongqili Waterway when it was making its way to a southern Guangzhou district from Foshan City. Images on China Central Television (abbreviated as CCTV) highlighted an empty container barge lodged between the two columns of Lixinsha Bridge, with a portion of the two-lane road deck of the bridge reportedly missing. The traffic on the bridge was paused.

Video Credits: South China Morning Post/YouTube

Four vehicles, as well as an electric motorbike, ended up falling off the bridge. Two vehicles, including a bus, dropped into the water, while three more vehicles ended up on the barge. The bus only had its driver. The accident caused five deaths (a bus driver, a motorcycle driver, as well as three in a van), per CCTV.

Two received medical care in the hospital, and their health conditions are now stable; a crew member of the vessel involved in the incident suffered minor injuries, stated the report. At a news briefing, local media and officials revealed that over 100 emergency personnel — six divers—and approximately 15 boats and salvage vessels- were participating in the rescue operation.

The Guangzhou Maritime Administration posted on its WeChat social media feed that the authorities were still investigating the cause of the accident. It recommended detours for vehicles and vessels that use the route. CCTV cited a press briefing by Lixinsha Bridge authorities to claim that the crew’s inappropriate activities caused the accident.

The local authorities informed the Global Times that the vessel’s owner had been taken into custody, and the neighbouring residents had been safely evacuated. Per the article, the primary path for residents of Sanmin Island to travel is the Lixinsha Bridge. It also stated that an official on the island informed the reporters that residents could still commute via ferry.

Per CCTV, efforts to strengthen the bridge, which offers residents a land connection to Shenzhen and Zhongshan, started in 2022 due to safety concerns. However, the work has been delayed repeatedly. The report stated that the city transportation department marked the end of August 2024 to complete the work. Guangzhou, the capital of the southern Guangdong province close to the Pearl River mouth, is one of China’s busiest maritime transportation and trading hubs.

Reference: Reuters

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