Harrowing footage shows moment Taiwan bridge crashes onto boats below

By Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer

Updated Oct. 1, 2019 2:24 PM

The 150-meter Nanfang’ao Bridge in Su’ao Township, Taiwan, collapsed on Monday morning, injuring over a dozen people. The collapse comes one day after Typhoon Mitag struck the region and just hours after a 3.8 magnitude earthquake shook the grounds in the early morning.

Previously the only steel single-arch bridge in all of Taiwan, the structure gave way around 9:30 a.m. while an oil tanker truck was crossing -- a mere seconds from safety. The bridge's main function was to carry traffic over the busy fishing port underneath. As the bridge and tanker collapsed onto boats below, the oil tanker vehicle caught on fire. According to the United Daily News (UDN), Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen visited the truck driver and other victims in the hospital on Monday night.

Wang Zhongyu, a professor of civil engineering at Central University in Taiwan, told UDN that recent photos seemed to indicate that support slings on the bridge appeared to have rusted and that strong winds from Mitag could have caused the collapse.

A collapsed bridge is seen in Nanfangao, eastern Taiwan. Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019. A towering bridge over a bay in eastern Taiwan has collapsed sending an oil tanker truck falling onto boats in the water below.(Taiwan's National Fire Agency via AP)

According to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Eric Leister, the typhoon dealt wind gusts over 80 km/h (50 mph) and widespread rainfall with up to 300 mm (12 inches) in some local, northeast locations. 

“Typhoon Mitag brought heavy rain and gusty winds to northern and eastern Taiwan from Monday into early Tuesday, local time,” Leister said.

Including the driver of the oil tanker, officials confirmed 10 total injuries while six fishermen were missing in the aftermath, trapped in the boats below. Several fishing vessels were crushed by the collapse as hundreds of rescuers rushed to operate cranes, excavators and military tugs to sort through the wreckage.

Photos from the collapse's aftermath also show the stained water from the tanker's crash.

Most recently reinforced in 2018, the bridge was popularly visited by locals who referred to it as "lover's bridge."

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An injured people lies on stretcher at the site of a collapsed bridge in Nanfangao, eastern Taiwan. Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019. A towering bridge over a bay in eastern Taiwan has collapsed sending an oil tanker truck falling onto boats in the water below. A disaster relief official said the collapse set off a fire and at least 10 people have been hurt. (Taiwan's Coast Guard via AP)

Disaster officials would not say to reporters if the typhoon or earthquake were to blame for the collapse. In response, Ing-wen ordered extra security checks to be made on all old bridges in Taiwan.

“[We] must find out the cause of the incident and should not evade responsibility,” she said.

“Saving life is the priority,” Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang said on Facebook. “I will ask related authorities to make all efforts for the rescue.”