Tourist left clinging for life after glass-bottomed bridge collapses in high winds – World News
A tourist has been left clinging to life after a glass-panelled bridge was wrecked by 140mph winds.
The walkway, located in the Piyan Mountain in the city of Longjing, China, reportedly saw its glass panels shattered by the extreme weather conditions.
One image shows the terrified man tightly gripping as railing as the wind blew away some of the glass panels.
According to local media in China the man was stuck on the walkway, 330ft in the air, for a short time before being rescued by firefighters and police.
He was then taken to hospital where he received counselling after crawling to safety, where he was then taken to hospital to receive psychological counselling following the ordeal.
The photo was first posted on Chinese social media site Weibo and has been viewed millions of times.
Users shared their horror at the vertigo-inducing image on social media, with some commenting that the ordeal was “terrifying”.
People reacted on social media site Twitter to the bridge’s collapse
Matt Knight wrote: “Someone was trapped high up on a suspended glass walkway at a scenic spot in north east China yesterday when high winds caused glass panels to fall out around them. They were eventually able to climb to safety.
News.com.au reported the news which was also posted on Chinese news sites which speculated about the safety of glass bridges in the country.
Reports said several pieces of deck glass of the 100-meter-high bridge were blown off by the wind gusting at a speed of up to 150 km per hour around 12:45 p.m. at the Piyan Mountain in the city of Longjing, according to the city government.
Chinese news site xinhuanet said the joint rescue efforts of firefighters, police, and forestry and tourism personnel, the male tourist successfully crawled to safety at 1.20pm.
He has been sent to a hospital and is receiving “psychological counselling”.
No casualties were reported, but the incident has drawn hundreds of discussions online.
One said: “This is exactly why I dare not step on a bridge like that,” wrote one poster named “Wadetian.”
Another said: “How often did the bridge undergo maintenance?”
Glass-bottomed bridges are increasingly popular in China’s mountain resorts and attract tourists seeking novelty and adventure.
According to Earth magazine, there at least 60 glass-bottomed bridges had been or were being built across the country as of late 2016.
In mountainous provinces like Jiangxi, Hunan and Yunnan, glass bridges are particularly common. The most famous is at Zhangjiajie, a tourist destination in Hunan, where a 430-metre-long, six-metre wide bridge hangs between two steep cliffs 300 metres above the ground.
Li, a doctor in southwest China’s Sichuan Province. said:” So many glass deck bridges have been built in recent years and are very popular with tourists. But how can we ensure their safety?”
Some local governments have put in place guidelines to reduce potential hazards.
North China’s Hebei Province released in 2018 technical standards for glass bridges and walkways at scenic areas and iussued specific guidelines for materials, location, design, construction.
The Piyan Mountain resort has now been closed.
