Cable fire caused bridge's partial collapse in Beijing

The partial collapse of the Chaobai River Bridge in Beijing's Shunyi district on Wednesday morning was due to the cables in the bridge's trench catching fire, according to an investigation report by the Beijing Commission of Transport on Wednesday evening.

The preliminary investigation showed that the cables installed in a trench caught fire. The blaze caused the bridge's tie rods to rupture, which subsequently caused the suspender cables to fail. The structural failure ultimately resulted in the partial collapse.

Thanks to the swift measures by authorities, the fire was later extinguished with no casualties or vehicle damage, according to the commission.

The city government has established an accident investigation team, inviting experts to review the incident thoroughly.

The probe will determine the sequence of events, summarize the lessons learned, identify responsibilities and propose measures to prevent similar incidents.

The city will immediately inspect all bridges with externally installed cables to eliminate potential hazards.