At least six people were killed after a bridge collapsed in Taiwan earlier this week, according to officials on Thursday.
Taiwanese rescuers retrieved the body of the last missing person. The bridge at the Nanfang’ao fishing port in Yilan County collapsed on Tuesday, smashing onto fishing boats moored underneath.
A tank truck was on the bridge when it collapsed, and it ignited after falling into the waterway, spewing smoke into the air.
According to the Central Emergency Operation Center, with the exception of the truck driver, who is Taiwanese, the rest of the 10 hospitalized and six missings are foreign migrant fishery workers. Thus far, a total of 214 first responders, 32 disaster rescue vehicles, 14 ambulances, and 11 boats have been dispatched to the scene, TVBS reported.
The bridge, which spanned the Nanfang’ao Fishing Port, was completed in 1998 and is the only steel single-arch bridge in Taiwan, the first bifurcated single-arch bridge in Asia, and one of only two in the world. The bridge was 140 meters in length and 15 meters in width.
The most recent overhaul of the bridge was conducted in 2016.