26 dead in truck blast in China

BEIJING - Agence France-Presse

Rescuers work at the scene of the collapsed bridge near Sanmenxia. AFP photo

A fireworks-laden truck exploded as it crossed a bridge in central China on Feb. 1, killing 26 people as the structure collapsed and vehicles plummeted to the ground, state-run media reported.

The lorry “suddenly exploded” on the expressway bridge in Henan province, China National Radio said, putting the number of deaths at 26.

An 80-meter long part of the bridge collapsed and six vehicles had been retrieved from the debris, China’s official news agency Xinhua said.

Pictures posted online appeared to show tangled wreckage beneath the bridge, including a red truck lying on its side, and another upturned with its wheels pointing skywards, as rescue workers in orange uniforms scaled the wreckage.

A crowd of people peered at the debris through thick hazy fog as another lorry partially hung off the bridge’s mangled edge.

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.