At 6:18 pm on the evening of the 6th, one of the cables on a suspension bridge in the Xiata Scenic Area, Zhaosu County, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, China, broke, causing the bridge deck to tilt. 29 people on the bridge slipped and fell, with 5 unfortunately losing their lives. 22 suffered minor injuries, and 2 sustained more serious injuries. The injured have been sent to the hospital for medical examination and treatment, and there is no threat to their lives.
According to Xinhua News Agency, after the accident, both the Ili Prefecture and Zhaosu County promptly initiated emergency response. County and prefecture-level party committees and governments quickly organized emergency management, fire, health, and other departments to rush to the scene, making every effort to treat the injured, provide comfort to tourists on-site, and actively handle the aftermath. Currently, the Xiata Scenic Area in Zhaosu County has been closed, and the cause of the accident is under investigation.
The bridge involved is known as the "internet-famous" General's Bridge, a well-known local attraction. Online photos show that after the bridge tilted, some tourists fell into the river below.
China's "Xiaoxiang Morning News" quoted a netizen who was present at the scene describing the moment the bridge broke: "I was walking on the bridge, still joking and chatting with friends, when one side of the bridge suddenly broke off," "We fell straight into the very turbulent glacial meltwater. All I could think was to quickly climb to the shore—if I got swept away by the water, it would be over. After crawling to the shore, I found that many people had already been swept away by the river, and quite a few were still falling down."
According to "Modern Express" reports, this is not the first time General's Bridge has experienced a tilting accident. On June 19 last year, a netizen posted a video on social media showing a suspension bridge tilting to one side, with many tourists on the bridge at the time, some of whom fell as a result.