A 450-foot-long (around 137 metres) bridge in eastern Taiwan came crashing down yesterday, and it’s reported that at least 10 people were injured in the collapse.

In addition, six people remain missing, as an oil tanker that was crossing the bridge at the time fell onto fishing boats below and caught alight.

The collapse happened at around 9:30AM local time, reports the Washington Post, with more than 200 responders heading to the site to assist with the search and rescue:

The cause of the 20-year-old bridge’s sudden collapse remains unknown, but Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen promised that the government would thoroughly investigate and that all bridges in Taiwan will undergo inspection.

Several local news outlets noted that a typhoon had battered the area in recent days, with winds reaching 85 mph to 100 mph, although 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 previous years, they had found rusted suspension cables and connection points that had been damaged by vehicles…

Sounds like some heads might roll in the wake of this disaster.

This clip captures the moment of the collapse from a distance:

A towering arch bridge over a bay in eastern #Taiwan collapsed, 5 feared missing https://t.co/tXKUuD58gC pic.twitter.com/ISYz8fkY4K

— Asia Bulletin News (@asia_bulletin) October 1, 2019

This clip contains CCTV footage captured from ground level:

Pretty terrifying stuff.

The bridge had previously held 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.

[source:washpost]