Qualla: 2024 Lixinsha Bridge Collapse

2024 Lixinsha Bridge Collapse: Introduction

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 中国新闻社, CC BY 4.0. The morning of 22 February 2024 was ordinary for the people crossing the Lixinsha Bridge in Guangzhou's Nansha district — a bus driver starting his route, a scooter rider, truck drivers hauling cargo across the Pearl River. A barge moving through the waterway below struck one of the bridge piers. The span fractured. Vehicles fell. Five people died that morning: a bus driver, a scooter rider, and three people in trucks that went into the river. Three others were injured.

Image: 中国新闻社 | CC BY 4.0

2024 Lixinsha Bridge Collapse: The Bridge and the River

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 中国新闻社, CC BY 4.0. The Lixinsha Bridge crosses a channel of the Pearl River in the Nansha district of Guangzhou, connecting Sanmin Island — a farming community — to the mainland. Nansha had been growing rapidly, and the bridge carried not just road traffic but the island's utility lifelines: water ...

Image: 中国新闻社 | CC BY 4.0

2024 Lixinsha Bridge Collapse: The Morning of the Collapse

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 中国新闻社, CC BY 4.0. When the barge struck the 19th pier of the Lixinsha Bridge, the impact caused a section of the span between the 19th and 20th piers to fracture and fall. Two vehicles plunged into the river; three others dropped onto the barge below. The barge was trapped beneath the collapsed se...

Image: 中国新闻社 | CC BY 4.0

2024 Lixinsha Bridge Collapse: An Island Cut Off

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 中国新闻社, CC BY 4.0. For the residents of Sanmin Island, the collapse meant more than grief. The bridge had carried everything the island depended on. Water supply to the island was cut off within hours. Fiber optic cables were severed, briefly disrupting communications. Electrical cables survived in...

Image: 中国新闻社 | CC BY 4.0

2024 Lixinsha Bridge Collapse: Investigation and Recovery

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 中国新闻社, CC BY 4.0. Demolition of the damaged span began on February 25, three days after the collapse. The investigation found that the accident had been caused by the barge crew's operational errors. The shipping company cooperated with authorities throughout the inquiry. Re-erecting the span bea...

Image: 中国新闻社 | CC BY 4.0