Six deadliest bridge collapses of the past 20 years

A major rescue effort is underway in the US city of Baltimore after a container ship struck a key bridge, sending several vehicles plummeting into the Patapsco River.

Here is a recap of some of the worst bridge collapses around the world in the past 20 years.

1. 2022: Nearly 140 dead in India

At least 137 people, including nearly 50 children, were killed after a 150-year-old suspension bridge collapsed in the Indian state of Gujarat days after reopening following renovations.

Hundreds of people had gathered on the bridge in Morbi to celebrate the last day of the holiday of Diwali.

CCTV footage showed the bridge swaying – with a few people apparently deliberately rocking it – before it suddenly gave way, sending people tumbling into a river and leaving others clinging to the wreckage.

2. 2021: 26 dead in Mexico

An elevated section of track on the Mexico City metro system collapsed in May 2021, bringing a passenger train crashing down, killing 26 people, and injuring dozens.

The incident in the megacity shakes public confidence in a transport system used daily by millions.

An investigation concluded that the accident was caused both by structural flaws and a lack of maintenance.

3. 2018: 43 dead in Italy

The collapse of a bridge in the Italian city of Genoa killed 43 people.

The Morandi bridge, part of a key highway connecting France and Italy, gave way in torrential rain in August, sending dozens of vehicles and their passengers tumbling into the abyss.

The tragedy highlighted the poor state of repair of Italy’s roads, bridges, and railways.

An investigation also found a lack of “even minimal maintenance work” to reinforce the bridge over its 51-year history.

4. 2011-2016: A trio of disasters in India

In March 2016, the collapse of a flyover onto a busy street in the Indian city of Kolkata killed at least 26 people.

Investigators said workers who were welding the bridge at the time noticed cracks appearing but that instead of warning people, they tried to weld the cracks together.

In late 2011, two bridges collapsed within a week of each other – one near the hill town of Darjeeling in the northeast, the other over a river in the northeastern state Arunachal Pradesh. Over 60 people were killed in total.

5. 2007: China: 64 dead

At least 64 workers were killed in August when a river bridge in China’s central Hunan province collapsed as they were completing its construction.

6. 2006: Pakistan and India

In August, in Pakistan, at least 40 people died as monsoon rains washed away a bridge in Mardan, 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Peshawar in the northwest of the country.

In December, in India, at least 34 people died when a 150-year-old bridge collapsed on a passenger train in the railway station in the eastern state of Bihar.

AFP