At least eight dead as bridge collapses in China

BEIJING A fireworks-laden truck exploded on a bridge in the Chinese province of Henan on Friday, causing the bridge to collapse. Several people lost their lives. At least eight dead as bridge collapses in China The truck “exploded suddenly”, sending a long section of the viaduct crashing to the ground. Six vehicles were discovered under the rubble, AFP has reported. The bridge near the city of Sanmenxia is on the G30 expressway, the longest road in China, which stretches for nearly 4,400 kilometers from China's western border with Kazakhstan to the eastern Yellow Sea. Chinese official news agency Xinhua has reported that eight people were killed and 13 injured in the collapse. State-run China National Radio initially said that 26 people had been killed, but the report could not later be found on its website, after local authorities in Henan province called the figure "inexplicable,” AFP says. Pyrotechnics explosions are not rare in China, especially during celebrations of the Lunar New Year. Many of China's roads are packed as the country gears up for its most important holiday, the Lunar New Year, when hundreds of millions of people travel back to their hometowns in what is billed as the world's largest annual human migration. The season is also a peak period for fireworks producers, as Chinese traditionally buy the explosives to celebrate the festival, which falls on February 10 this year, AFP has reported. According to police statistics, around 70,000 people die and 300,000 more are injured in road accidents every year in China. China has seen a number of bridge collapses in recent years, which are often blamed on overloading and shoddy construction. (YouTube) Tanjug

At least eight dead as bridge collapses in China

The truck “exploded suddenly”, sending a long section of the viaduct crashing to the ground. Six vehicles were discovered under the rubble, AFP has reported.

The bridge near the city of Sanmenxia is on the G30 expressway, the longest road in China, which stretches for nearly 4,400 kilometers from China's western border with Kazakhstan to the eastern Yellow Sea.

Chinese official news agency Xinhua has reported that eight people were killed and 13 injured in the collapse. State-run China National Radio initially said that 26 people had been killed, but the report could not later be found on its website, after local authorities in Henan province called the figure "inexplicable,” AFP says.

Pyrotechnics explosions are not rare in China, especially during celebrations of the Lunar New Year.

Many of China's roads are packed as the country gears up for its most important holiday, the Lunar New Year, when hundreds of millions of people travel back to their hometowns in what is billed as the world's largest annual human migration.

The season is also a peak period for fireworks producers, as Chinese traditionally buy the explosives to celebrate the festival, which falls on February 10 this year, AFP has reported.

According to police statistics, around 70,000 people die and 300,000 more are injured in road accidents every year in China. China has seen a number of bridge collapses in recent years, which are often blamed on overloading and shoddy construction.