Nanfang'ao Bridge

The Nanfang'ao Bridge (traditional Chinese: 南方澳大橋; simplified Chinese: 南方澳大桥; pinyin: Nánfāng'ào Dàqiáo) was a bridge in Nanfang'ao Fishing Port, Su'ao Township, Yilan County, Taiwan. It was the only steel single-arch bridge in Taiwan and was maintained by Taiwan International Ports Corporation.[1] Construction began in 1996, and was finished in 1998. The bridge collapsed on 1 October 2019, killing six people and injuring 12.

Nanfang'ao Bridge

南方澳大橋
The new Nanfangao Bridge
Coordinates24°35′9″N 121°52′10″E
LocaleSu'ao, Yilan County, Taiwan
Maintained byTaiwan International Ports Corporation
Characteristics
Designtied-arch bridge
MaterialSteel
Total length140 m (459 ft)
Width15 m (49 ft)
Height18 m (59 ft)
History
DesignerMAA Consultants
Construction start1996 (1996)
Construction end1998 (1998)
Collapsed1 October 2019 (2019-10-01)
ReplacesOld Nanfang'ao Bridge
Location

History
Nanfang'ao Bridge before collapse.

The bridge was designed by MAA Consultants (Chinese: 亞新工程顧問股份有限公司) and built by Yilan County Government. The construction started in 1996 and was commissioned by Ministry of Transportation and Communications. It was finally opened to the public in 1998 and was transferred to Keelung Port Bureau (now Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC)) for its management.[1][2][3] The bridge was constructed to replace the former lower bridge around the same area so that large fishing vessels could pass through underneath it.[4]

Since its opening, it was only inspected once by Chien Hsin University of Science and Technology in 2016.[5][6] During the inspection, it was found that the bridge's expansion joints were "obviously warped, damaged and sagging."[6] From 2017 to 2018, TIPC spent NT$10 million to clean the expansion joints and other reinforcement works.[6][7]

Collapse
Bridge collapse
The collapsed Nanfang'ao Bridge
Date1 October 2019 (2019-10-01)
Time09:30 (UTC+8)
LocationSu'ao, Yilan County, Taiwan
Deaths6
Non-fatal injuries12

On 1 October 2019 at 09:30 the bridge collapsed, injuring more than 20 people, many of whom were on fishing vessels in the harbor below.[8][9][10] Video shows an oil tanker truck nearly making it across to the other side when the bridge collapsed, sending the truck hurtling into the water, whereupon it burst into flames. There were in total six people on the bridge during the collapse.[11] The collapsing bridge damaged three fishing boats beneath it, injuring and trapping a number of migrant workers who were on the boats.[12]

Local authorities requested the armed forces to help in the search and rescue operation, who were then followed by[13] the Coast Guard Administration, Ministry of National Defense and National Airborne Service Corps.[14] President Tsai Ing-wen said, "We hope to safely rescue all in the shortest time to minimise the damages".[4]

Search and rescue operation teams faced difficulties in finding the missing people due to the underwater location which had low visibility.[15] As of 3 October 2019, there had been six confirmed deaths.[16] All of the bodies had been brought to the Su'ao Branch of Taipei Veterans General Hospital.[17]

The day before the bridge collapsed, the area was hit by Typhoon Mitag, and struck by a 3.8 magnitude earthquake at 01:54 in the early morning before the collapse.[3][18][19] However, MAA Consultants were not able to determine the actual cause before the crucial broken parts of the structure have been recovered.[6]

NationalityNumber of
injured		Number of
deaths[20]
 Indonesia33
 Philippines5[21]3
 Republic of China3
Total12[6]6

Post collapse recovery, investigations and reactions

The oil tanker driver, 61-year-old Zhang Jianchang (張建昌), was rescued from the burning wreckage immediately after the collapse by four workers from a nearby petrol station located 30 meters away.[22][23] Zhang suffered multiple fractures, spinal, and internal injuries. He underwent emergency surgery and was warded in the intensive care unit at the Luodong Bo’ai Hospital.[24] As of 31 October 2019, Zhang was recovering from his injuries.[22]

The armed forces deployed a floating platform to retrieve debris and the boats stuck under the bridge.[17] President Tsai promised a thorough investigation of the incident and that all bridges in Taiwan would undergo inspection.[25]

Most of the arches of the bridge were cleared on 10 October 2019, totaling 320 tonnes.[26]

In November 2020, Taiwan Transportation Safety Board published the final investigation regarding the collapse of the bridge. The findings were that the bridge collapsed due to corrosion, lack of proper maintenance and lack of repair. By the time of the incident, the supporting steel cables had only 22–27% of functional cross-section area left.[27]

In August 2022, the Yilan District Prosecutors' Office charged six people involved in the construction of the bridge with negligence.[28]

Aftermath

The Ministry of Transportation and Communications stated that a new bridge will be built at the same spot within three years.[1] The design and tender for the new bridge will be overseen by Public Construction Commission.[29]

On 3 October 2019, Premier Su Tseng-chang ordered inspections of all bridges in Taiwan.[29]

Due to the fact that many migrant fishermen sleep inside their fishing vessels during night time, a dangerous condition in the case of similar bridge collapse incident to happen again, the Labor Affairs Department of Yilan County Government started the planning to build onshore accommodation for those migrant workers at Nanfang'ao Fishing Port. The project will be broken down into three phases and last for three years, with the ultimate goal of providing the accommodation for all of the migrant fishermen.[30]

New bridge
Su'Ao's Nanfangao Aerial Panorama. Shot December 2022

The construction of the new bridge to replace the collapsed one started in October 2020. It is overseen by Directorate General of Highways. The cost of the construction is NT$848.5 million and is completed on 18 December 2022.[27]

Technical specification

The bridge was a single tied-arch bridge made of steel. It had a length of 140 meters (460 ft), a width of 15 meters (49 ft) and a passage height for vessels of 18 meters (59 ft).[3][4] The bridge was intended to last 50 years.[11][15]

Architecture

The bridge was decorated with images of fish, shrimps, and crabs, representing the port.[31]

See also

References
  1. "Maintenance report reveals problems on Yilan bridge 3 years ago | Society | FOCUS TAIWAN - CNA ENGLISH NEWS". focustaiwan.tw.
  2. "Rescue underway following Taiwan Bridge collapse". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  3. News, Taiwan. "Breaking News: Bridge collapses in NE Taiwan,..." Taiwan News. Retrieved 1 October 2019. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  4. "Bridge collapse in Taiwan sends oil tanker truck tumbling onto boats in fishing harbor". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  5. "Bridge only inspected once, TIPC says - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  6. "Maintenance report reveals problems on Yilan bridge 3 years ago | Society | FOCUS TAIWAN - CNA ENGLISH NEWS". focustaiwan.tw. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  7. "Taiwan bridge collapse crushes fishing boats, six crew feared trapped". The Star Online. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  8. "Taiwan bridge collapse". BBC News. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  9. "Nanfang'ao Bridge in Yilan collapses". focustaiwan.tw. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  10. Victor, Daniel; Horton, Chris (1 October 2019). "Bridge Collapses in Taiwan; Oil Truck Plunges Moments Away From Crossing". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  11. Farrell, Paul (1 October 2019). "Nanfangao Bridge Collapse: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know".
  12. News, Taiwan. "Fishing boat owner mourns deaths of foreign c..." Taiwan News. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  13. "Taiwan bridge collapse crushes fishing boats, some feared trapped". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  14. "10 injured, 6 still trapped at bridge collapse site in Yilan". focustaiwan.tw. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  15. "On Camera, 460-Foot Bridge Collapses In Taiwan, Crushes Boats". NDTV.com.
  16. "Sixth body found after Yilan bridge collapse | Society | FOCUS TAIWAN - CNA ENGLISH NEWS". focustaiwan.tw.
  17. "Death toll from bridge collapse hits five - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com.
  18. News, Taiwan. "Snapped cables at center of investigation int..." Taiwan News. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  19. "Four dead and two missing after Taiwan bridge collapse, with 10 hospitalised". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Reuters/AP. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  20. 台灣英文新聞. "【南方澳斷橋】第6名移工遺體發現、搜救結束 油罐車司機仍在加護病房". 台灣英文新聞. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  21. "Two Filipinos dead, 1 missing in Taiwan bridge collapse". cnn. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  22. "南方澳斷橋救油罐車司機 四英雄受表揚". tw.news.yahoo.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  23. 游芳男; 陳韻如 (2 October 2019). "南方澳斷橋／油罐車司機「脾臟出血」已止！預計4日手術 主治醫：情況樂觀 | ETtoday社會新聞 | ETtoday新聞雲". www.ettoday.net (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  24. Charlier, Phillip (1 October 2019). "Bridge collapses in Yilan County, 12 injured, 5 missing". Taiwan English News. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  25. Bellware, Kim. "Video captures terrifying collapse of 450-foot bridge in Taiwan" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  26. Shen, Worthy; Lee, Hsin-yin (10 October 2019). "Arches of collapsed Yilan bridge removed, port operations resume". Focus Taiwan. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  27. "TTSB details reasons for Nanfang'ao Bridge collapse - Focus Taiwan". Focus Taiwan. 25 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  28. Wang, Chao-yu; Hsu, Elizabeth (31 August 2022). "6 indicted on negligence charges in deadly Nanfang'ao Bridge collapse". Central News Agency. Retrieved 1 September 2022. Republished as: "Six charged over deadly bridge collapse in Yilan". Taipei Times. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  29. "Nationwide bridge inspection ordered - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com.
  30. Yen, William (8 October 2019). "Yilan planning onshore accommodation for migrant fishermen". Focus Taiwan. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  31. "Nanfang'ao Bridge". Yilan Tourism. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
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