Beijing — At least 12 people were killed and four left missing after part of a bridge under construction collapsed Friday in northwest China, state media reported. A video published by state broadcaster CCTV showed the middle of the bridge’s arch section suddenly giving way and plunging into the waters of the Yellow River below.
The cause was a steel cable failure, state news agency Xinhua said.
The People’s Daily newspaper said 15 workers and a project manager were on-site at the time. The death toll was initially reported as seven by the newspaper, but subsequent reports put it at six and then state TV doubled the toll.
A screengrab from video published on Aug. 22, 2025 by Chinese state television shows a portion of the under-construction Jianzha Yellow River Bridge, a key project of the Sichuan-Qinghai Railway in Jianzha County, Qinghai Province, China, collapsing. The incident killed at least 12 people, according to China’s state-run media. / Credit: CCTV
According to CCTV’s report, at least 91 rescue vehicles, including 27 boats, a helicopter and five robots, along with 806 personnel, were deployed to help with the search and rescue effort. The state-run network said six hospitals in the region were prepared to intake victims for treatment.
The bridge on the Sichuan-Qinghai Railway is the world’s largest-span double-track continuous steel truss arch bridge, according to People’s Daily.
It is also China’s first railway steel truss arch bridge spanning the Yellow River — the country’s second longest — the report said.
Images published on state media show the partially built bridge, its middle section missing and two giant scaffolding towers and several cranes alongside it.
A file photo from Dec. 20, 2024, shows construction underway on the Jianzha Yellow River Bridge, a key project of the Sichuan-Qinghai Railway in Jianzha County, Qinghai Province, China. A central arch of the still-under-construction bridge collapsed on Aug. 22, 2025, killing at least six people according to state media. / Credit: Costfoto/NurPhoto/Getty
Hundreds of rescue workers were mobilized for the search and rescue operation, Xinhua said.
Industrial accidents are fairly common in China due to vague regulations and lax safety standards.
In December last year, 13 people went missing after a cave-in at a construction site for a major railway in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. There were no reports of survivors.
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