China Central Television reported the collapse of the country’s longest wooden bridge, built more than 900 years ago, as a result of a fire that broke out Sunday in eastern China’s Fujian province.
Television reported that the cause was a fire on the Van An bridge in Benin province that broke out last night, which was extinguished at 22:45 local time.
He added: “At the moment, the bridge burned down and completely collapsed, no one was injured in the accident.”
The Wan An Bridge was built over 900 years ago during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). In 1708, the bridge was partially damaged by a fire that broke out in it, and in 1742 it was reconstructed. Then it was repaired several times. In 1991, the bridge was given the status of a protected object of the regional level, and in 2006 this level was raised to the republican level.
The Chinese newspaper “Global Times” pointed out that the Wang An Bridge was the longest wooden suspension bridge (98.2 meters). On Sunday, a Peking University expert said he believes a human factor could be the cause of the fire.
Source: RIA Novosti