The sudden and catastrophic collapse at a major bridge construction site in China’s eastern Jiangsu province has left five workers dead, after the bodies of three missing people were recovered on Tuesday morning.
At 5.46pm on Monday, a significant section of the under-construction Yuegang Bridge collapsed in Yancheng City’s Xiangshui County when the main span – measuring 95 metres (312 feet) – of the unfinished bridge suddenly gave way.
Two people pulled from the wreckage with severe injuries later died in hospital, while rescue teams searched for three colleagues who remained unaccounted for, according to a public notice released by the local county government on Tuesday.
A multi-agency emergency operation involving fire, maritime and medical personnel scoured the site on the Tongyu River, while authorities imposed a temporary ban on waterway navigation in the immediate area to assist with the rescue and ensure public safety, state Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.
At around 11am on Tuesday, state broadcaster CCTV reported that the three missing people were found. None had survived.
The collapsed bridge was a linchpin in the ambitious Lianyungang-Shanghai Line, a provincial initiative designed to create a high-capacity north-south water transport corridor.
Undertaken by the state-owned China Railway 12th Bureau Group, the project had been progressing on a tight schedule.
The old bridge was closed to traffic for demolition and rebuilding in March 2025, with its main span reported as “basically completed” by late November, according to previous media reports.
The collapse has ignited public questions about safety standards within China’s vast and rapid construction sector. Online discourse now heavily focuses on whether relentless project timelines are compromising fundamental safety protocols.
In November alone, a test train collision in Kunming in southwest Yunnan province killed 11 workers, and a newly built bridge in neighbouring Sichuan province was destroyed by a landslide. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
