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Jane Cai

A highway bridge between two tunnels in southwest China’s Sichuan province collapsed in a mudslide in the early hours of Saturday, sending three vehicles plunging into mountainous terrain.
One passenger was rescued and five others were missing as of noon on Saturday, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing authorities in Sichuan Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, where the accident occurred.
It is China’s second bridge collapse in less than a month.
The accident took place at around 3.30am when a sudden mudslide hit the Kangding-Luding section of the Yakang expressway. The Ministry of Emergency Management has sent around 300 rescuers to the site and work is under way.
In nearby Ridi village, “a sudden mountain torrent and landslide” on Friday night destroyed homes, killed at least two people and left 12 missing, state broadcaster CCTV reported, quoting the Ganzi government.
While summer is typically the rainy season in most of China, episodes of extreme weather have become more frequent this year, with heavy downpours triggering floods, landslides, dyke breaches and road collapses across the nation.
A little over two weeks ago, another highway bridge collapsed in Shangluo, in the northwestern province of Shaanxi. The death toll from the tragedy on July 19 has climbed to at least 38, with 24 still missing, Xinhua reported on Friday. Authorities have confirmed that 25 vehicles were swept away after a three-lane section of the bridge plunged into a river following a sudden downpour and flash floods.
May brought China’s deadliest road collapse in over a decade, when 48 people died after a section of the Meizhou-Dabu highway in the southern province of Guangdong collapsed. Around 18 metres (59 feet) of the mountainous stretch of highway in Meizhou city crumbled into the forested slope beneath on May 1, causing vehicles to tumble.
Following the Meizhou disaster, President Xi Jinping ordered local authorities to make an all-out effort to save lives and ensure “overall social stability”. He also urged authorities to inspect and deal with potential risks in a timely manner.


The Yakang expressway, connecting Yaan to Kangding in Sichuan’s western highlands, opened in 2018. It shortens the drive from provincial capital Chengdu to the resort city of Kangding by two hours, for a total journey of four hours. Bridges and tunnels make up 82 per cent of the expressway.
Some social media users in China called for improved extreme weather monitoring and warnings, while others questioned the quality of infrastructure.
“Three tragedies in a row! I was so shocked,” one user posted on social media platform Weibo. “China should launch a crackdown on tofu-dreg projects.”
In China, “tofu-dreg project” is a phrase used to describe poorly built infrastructure. Such projects came under the scanner in 2008, when hundreds of students died after shoddily built school buildings collapsed during the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan.


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Accidents, extreme weather and disasters in China

5 missing in China’s Sichuan as bridge collapse sends cars plunging down slopes

Bridges and tunnels make up 82 per cent of Sichuan’s Yakang expressway, which was hit by a mudslide early on Saturday. Photo: CCTV  

China orders infrastructure checks after another deadly highway collapse

Rescuers work at the site of a bridge collapse in Zhashui county in Shangluo on Saturday after torrential rain in Shaanxi province. Some 15 people died in the disaster. Photo: Xinhua

12 dead, dozens missing after bridge collapses amid floods in China’s Shaanxi province

A portion of the bridge on Danning highway in China’s northwestern Shaanxi province lies submerged after collapsing on Friday night. Photo: Xinhua

Rescuers work at the site of the bridge collapse in Zhashui county of Shangluo city in Shaanxi province on Saturday. Photo: Xinhua 

China’s Three Gorges Dam on flood alert as rain batters megacity Chongqing

Residents of Chongqing’s Dianjiang county are evacuated from a flooded area on Thursday. Photo: AFP

The death toll from heavy rain in southwest China’s Chongqing municipality has risen to six, according to local authorities. Photo: Xinhua

News

China

Latest in series of infrastructure-related disasters this summer comes as extreme weather triggers floods and landslides around China


Latest in series of infrastructure-related disasters this summer comes as extreme weather triggers floods and landslides around China.
