Bridge disaster in Guangzhou, China
On 22 February 2024, a barge collided with the Lixinsha Bridge in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, causing a portion of the bridge to collapse. Two vehicles plunged into the river and three others fell onto the barge, leaving five dead and three others injured.
Background.
Guangzhou, on the delta of the Pearl River is one of China’s busiest seaports. The Lixinsha Bridge is located in the Nansha district was at the time the fastest growing port of southern China.
Local authorities said that reinforcement work, including constructing "collision avoidance facilities" at four bridge piers, had been completed in 2022.
Event.
At around 5:30 a.m. local time, a barge carrying only the operator first grazed the 18th bridge pier and then collided with the 19th bridge pier of the Lixinsha Bridge. A section of the bridge fractured, causing a portion of the bridge to fall into the water. The ship was trapped below it.
At least five vehicles fell into the water and onto the barge, leaving five people dead and three others wounded. The vehicles in the collapse included an electric motorbike and a public bus carrying only the driver.
The people who died were the driver of the bus; the driver of the scooter and three people in the trucks that fell into the river.
Rescue and recovery.
China Rescue and Salvage Bureau of the Chinese Ministry of Transport dispatched its rescue team members and vehicles from its rescue base in Guangzhou to carry out search and rescue operation. From the Shenzhen rescue base, a high-speed rescue boat "Nanhai Rescue 321" and team members were also dispatched to aid the operation.
By 4:10 p.m. local time, the two trucks that fell into water were recovered, with the bodies of their drivers and passenger recovered separately later in the evening.
The Guangzhou Maritime Safety Administration implemented a temporary water traffic control on the waters within 500 meters upstream and downstream of the bridge, prohibiting passage of all watercrafts but official and maintenance watercrafts.
Aftermath.
The captain of the ship was detained. People living in the vicinity were evacuated.
An investigation started into the cause of the collapse. The ship company was cooperating in the investigation.
Staff from the China Railway Construction Corporation conducted on-site inspection after the collision assessed that there would not be any risk of a second collapse of the bridge. In an evening press conference of the same day of the collapse, the chief engineer of the Guangzhou Transportation Management Bureau reported that the 19th bridge pier had been seriously damaged and tilted, and the span beams between the 19th and 20th bridge piers had to be replaced as well. Based on the assessments of the bridge and its surroundings on-site, a repair and reinforcement plan would be formulated. On February 25, the demolition work on the damaged span began, and it was expected that the overall repair work to be completed in four to five months' time.
After the collision, the water supply to the island was interrupted. As an interim measure, the local water utilities connected the island to a temporary water supply pipeline through the still under construction Nanzhong Expressway, providing temporary relief to the villagers on the island, with an expectation that the water supply would be fully restored several days later. Authorities also had dispatched water trucks to provide residents with portable water. The Lixinsha Bridge also carries the island's communications fiber optic cables and electrical cables. In the collision, some of the fiber optics cables were damaged and cause the communications to be interrupted briefly for the day. There was no interruption to the island's power supply as the electrical cables did not suffer any damages and there is already a second set of power cables installed in the Nanzhong Expressway installed six months ago. To allow people and goods to enter and exit the island, the local government built a temporary dock by the following morning after the collision, and planned to build a temporary bridge as well.
Repairs and reopening.
On May 23, 2024，the repair works on the bridge was completed. On June 12, the bridge was certified for use. The bridge was reopened to traffic on June 22, 10 a.m.