Story By: John Feng, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
Video Credit: AsiaWire
Officials in China say three people have been confirmed dead and two others injured after a motorway collapsed onto a crossroads and pinned three cars underneath it.
Five vehicles, including two suspected overloaded lorries each carrying cargo weighing around 170 tonnes, were on the affected flyover section at the time of collapse at just past 6pm local time on 10th October.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the two heavy goods vehicles each carrying some 170 tonnes of rolled metal sheets caused the tipping and collapse of the flyover, the government statement claimed.
This comes as local media reports say the outdated single-pier bridge had already been identified as a transport bottleneck during its latest round of renovations in 2016.
Video Credit: AsiaWire
The heavily overloaded lorries, which were legally allowed to carry a capacity of just 38.5 tonnes, were headed east towards the port city of Shanghai about 85 miles away.
The accident was captured on dramatic dashcam footage, which showed the eastward section falling onto Xigang Road in the city of Wuxi in East China’s Jiangsu Province, pinning vehicles underneath it.
A Wuxi People’s Government statement said three cars – one unoccupied – were pinned under the bridge, killing three people.
The three saloon cars and two heavy good vehicles on the flyover at the time were seen pinned against the crash barrier of the slanted and collapse road, resulting in two injuries.
Nearly 20 excavators worked throughout the night to tear apart the collapsed motorway section, with the Xigang Road junction still closed to traffic at the time of writing.
Further investigations into the accident are ongoing, with reports today (11th October) saying police have arrested representatives of the company named as Chenggong Transport.
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