The temple was part of the strategic route towards Tibet. Authorities are investigating the landslide that collapsed the newly built section
Photo: Zataka
Massive infrastructure construction has become almost a trademark of modern China. But in the mountainous interior of Sichuan, one of these symbols of ambition has turned into a warning. A section of the newly built Shuangjiangkou Hongqi Bridge, built to integrate the road network leading to Tibet, collapsed after a landslide. The collapse, which was captured on video and shared widely on Chinese networks, shows entire concrete slabs falling from the mountain and creating thick clouds of dust.
Surprisingly, there were no casualties, according to local authorities. This did not happen by chance: the day before the fall, technical teams had already discovered cracks in both the sidewalk and the slope adjacent to the structure. The municipality of Merkang — or Parkham, by its Tibetan name — closed the bridge preemptively, to avoid the worst, as the New York Times reported. However, on Tuesday afternoon, the landslide progressed and took with it access to the affected portion and its surface. You can watch the video below:
The location is not exactly a big business friendly area. Sichuan is a seismically active region, and it witnessed a devastating earthquake in 2008, which left more than 69,000 dead and thousands missing. Since then, any geological problem in the province raises red flags, and the bridge collapse reinforces how the rugged terrain can turn any infrastructure project into a high-stakes game.
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