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July 5, 2012

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Passersby injured, killed as new bridge crumbles

THE death toll in the collapse of a sight-seeing bridge in Nanjing City reached two after a woman died of injuries yesterday, media reports said.

When the newly built bridge partially collapsed on Tuesday, one person died at the scene and five went to the hospital.

The 48-year-old woman who died yesterday had sustained severe injuries, China News Agency reported.

City authorities said the rescue work has finished and the investigation is underway.

The bridge's top shelter, mainly made of bricks and wood fashioned as Chinese traditional eaves, collapsed amidst rain storms on Tuesday afternoon. The victims were buried in falling bricks and wood, witnesses said.

Some residents said it must have been built poorly since it opened only a year ago.

Qiu Guangxun, an official with Nanjing construction authorities, told the China News that it needs an investigation to decide "whether the collapse was the result of poor quality or of bad weather."

The other injured people, who had broken bones, were in stable condition at the hospital, said the city government.

"We were on the bridge to dodge the rains then," said an injured woman, surnamed Fang, who had her leg broken after she was stuck in the falling wooden barriers. Fang said she saw six to seven people on the bridge then.

Nanjing was hit by a heavy rainfall and strong winds Tuesday afternoon. Rescue work had to be halted at one point due to the bad weather, said the government.

The sight-seeing bridge, a part of an environmental improvement plan, was put into use in June 2011.




 

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