5 killed in China's Xinjiang after suspension bridge cable snaps
BEIJING : Five people were killed after a cable on a suspension bridge snapped in northwestern China's Xinjiang region, causing them to fall off the bridge, state-run news agency Xinhua reported today.
The incident, which took place at 6.18pm yesterday in a sightseeing area in the Ili Kazakh autonomous prefecture, injured a further 24 people, Xinhua said.
The scenic area has been closed while the incident is being investigated, Xinhua said.
Videos circulating on social media, verified by Reuters, show a low-hanging suspension bridge tilted to one side with handrails made from cables dangling between the walkway and the ground below.
Part of the bridge hangs over a river.
The videos also show at least two people lying on the ground below the bridge.
In one of the videos, a casualty was put onto a wooden plank, while another video shows people carrying the makeshift stretcher away from the scene.
The 65sq km area, called Xiata, boasts a natural landscape including a mountain pass, a valley, and a river as well as cultural remains such as ruins of an ancient town, public information shows.
The central government has sent a task force to the site of the accident to oversee the investigation and the treatment of the injured, Xinhua said in a separate report.
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