6 dead in Taiwan bridge collapse
Taipei: Six people have been confirmed dead after a bridge collapsed in Taiwan earlier this week, officials said.
Taiwanese rescuers retrieved the body of the last missing person on Thursday. The bridge at the Nanfang’ao fishing port in Yilan County collapsed on Tuesday, smashing onto fishing boats moored underneath.
A tank truck was on the bridge when it collapsed, and it ignited after falling into the waterway, spewing smoke into the air.
The dead were confirmed to be fishermen from Indonesia and the Philippines, with the youngest being 29 and the oldest 44. Another 12 people were injured, authorities were cited as saying by Xinhua news agency.
Videos released by the local media showed the bridge broke apart in the middle and fell into the sea.
The bridge was completed in 1998 and is the only steel single-arch bridge in Taiwan — the first bifurcated single-arch bridge in Asia — and one of only two in the world. The bridge was 140 metres in length and 15 metres in width.
The most recent overhaul of the bridge was conducted in 2016.