TAIPEI: Towering arch bridge over a bay in eastern Taiwan collapsed Tuesday, sending a burning oil tanker truck falling onto boats in the water below. An air force helicopter, fishing vessels, and more than 60 military personnel, including divers, we’re searching for possible victims.
Six people are believed trapped in one of the fishing boats, the National Fire Agency said. Interior Minister Hsu Kuo-Yung told reporters about five people were feared to have been on the bridge when it collapsed. Ten people were sent to hospitals, six of them with serious injuries.
The 140-meter-long (460-feet) bridge collapsed about 9:30 a.m. in Nanfangao, a tiny but often-crowded Pacific coast fishing village.
The weather at the time was sunny, but the collapse occurred hours after a typhoon swept by the island. Disaster relief officials would not say if the storm had weakened the bridge or give other details on the potential cause. Government-run Central News Agency said a bridge pier may have collapsed.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said she hoped all government departments would do everything possible to save people and “keep the number of deaths and injuries as low as possible,” CNA reported.
National Fire Agency spokesperson Su Hongwei said the tanker’s fall smashed three fishing boats. It also set off a fire on the tanker truck but it did not spread beyond the vehicle.
(Agencies)
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