Bridge collapses in Yilan, Taiwan after being ravaged by a typhoon. Video / Twitter / @KamiliaHaraQoo
At least 10 people were injured and six remain missing after a 137m-long bridge in eastern Taiwan came crashing down Tuesday morning as an oil tanker truck was driving across, according to local news reports. The truck fell onto three fishing boats beneath the bridge and burst into flames.
Videofrom the scene shows the Nanfangao Bridge in Su'ao Township of Taiwan's Yilan County collapse around 9.30am local time, sending more than 200 first responders, including the Taiwanese military and coast guard personnel, on a search for survivors that has stretched into the evening.
Most of the missing and injured were migrant fishermen from the Philippines and Indonesia.
In this photo released by Ministry of National Defense, damaged ships are removed after towering arch bridge collapsed in Nanfangao, eastern Taiwan. Photo / via AP
"We have checked hospital records, asked boat owners and also colleagues of the missing workers and we believe the missing workers are the six from our agency," Tseng Yen-pu, a representative of Sang Yi International manpower agency told state-run news agency CNA Tuesday night.
The cause of the 20-year-old bridge's sudden collapse remains unknown, but Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen promised the government would thoroughly investigate and that all bridges in Taiwan will undergo inspection.
A disaster relief official said the bridge collapse set off a fire and at least 10 people have been hurt. Photo / via AP
Several local news outlets noted that a typhoon had battered the area in recent days, with winds reaching 137 to 160 kmh, though the weather was clear Tuesday morning. A low-magnitude earthquake also struck the area Monday morning, the Taiwan News reported. Meanwhile, consultants charged with maintaining the bridge said that in earlier years, they had found rusted suspension cables and connection points that had been damaged by vehicles, the New York Times said, citing the local Liberty Times newspaper.
Tsai said cleanup efforts were expected to be finished by Wednesday so regular activity could resume at the port.
An oil tanker truck crossing over the bridge fell onto boats in the water and burst into flames. Six people are still missing. Photo / AP
Despite its relatively small population of about 41,000, Su'ao Township is a bustling port town in southeast Taiwan and is known for its seafood and cold springs, according to the local tourism board. Nanfangao Bridge is considered a tourist attraction in Yilan County, according to the Associated Press. It was built to replace a lower bridge so that fishing boats and other vessels could pass below.
The bridge had the distinction of being the only single-span arch bridge in Taiwan supported by cables and the second single arch-cable steel bridge in the world, the AP reports.
