According to the Information Office of Xuan'en County Government in Enshi Prefecture, at about 5:16 on May 11, a commercial vehicle in Shiziguan Scenic Area of Zhushan Town fell into the water from a floating bridge, with 19 people on board, 8 escaped and went ashore, and 3 people died after searching and rescuing ashore.
At noon on May 5, the relevant staff of Shanghai Qihua Water Engineering Construction Co., Ltd., the builder of the Shiguan Pontoon Bridge, told the Beijing News reporter, "This bridge has been delivered for 17 years, and there has never been an accident before, and this time it was an accident." The staff member said that the cause of the accident could not be determined at present, "It is still necessary to wait for the investigation results of the scenic spot and the government." ”
On the afternoon of May 5, a staff member of the Enshi Prefecture Security Committee told the Beijing News reporter that the Shiziguan pontoon bridge had been professionally evaluated and issued an assessment report, and that Shiziguan was a large local scenic spot and was often inspected by departments at all levels, while the safety committee was mainly responsible for comprehensive inspection, and the specific daily safety supervision work was the responsibility of the Cultural and Tourism Bureau.
After the incident, the party committee and government of Xuan'en County, Enshi Prefecture, led relevant departments to the scene for rescue and disposal, and the scenic spot has been temporarily suspended.
"A car drove in, he drove it into the water"
Xia Qing was the first among the tourists on the scene to find someone overboard.
At about 5:16 on May 11, Xia Qing's scenic sightseeing car slowly drove onto the pontoon. After the rain, there is white fog floating on the lake, and in the video, Xia Qing and her friends sigh that it is as beautiful as "fairyland".
Xia Qing recalled that the green tourist battery car they were riding on drove about 100 meters, and he suddenly saw two people floating on the lake, "The first reaction at that time was, on such a cold day, there are still people swimming in the lake?" It wasn't until she saw that the railings on the bridge deck were obviously damaged, and there were broken railing parts floating on the lake, that Xia Qing realized that something was wrong.
In the video taken by Xia Qing's companion, Xia Qing sat in front of the sightseeing car and exclaimed, "A car drove in, and he drove the car into the water." Soon, someone in the car shouted "save people", the driver of the sightseeing bus quickly stopped the car, used the walkie-talkie to call for help to other staff and asked for the police, and Xia Qing got out of the car with several male passengers.
In the live video provided by Xia Qing, a man and a woman float on the surface of the lake, and two people who have fallen into the water are exposed above their shoulders and float on the surface of the water with difficulty. Among them, the man who fell into the water rowed a few times towards the shore, and then grabbed the guardrail floating on the water next to the bridge with both hands.
"Are you okay?" The man on the shore confirmed the status to the man, and he replied: "OK". People on the shore asked how many people were left in the water, and the man who fell into the water responded that there were seven more. Then, Xia Qing and his companions stretched out their hands to the man on the shore, and the man grabbed their hands and went ashore.
Xia Qing remembers that the rescued woman who fell into the water shouted, "There are 5 more people in the water!" Xia Qing looked at the water, but saw no trace of people and cars.
Xia Qing said that the whole process lasted less than 10 minutes. She only remembered the chaos and nervousness, first a security guard running from the bridge, then two security guards and some scattered people. "Listening to the people behind us who did not go on the bridge, the driver of the sightseeing bus at the head of the bridge heard what was said on the walkie-talkie, so he got out of the car and ran to the bridge, and some staff members and some people in security uniforms ran over." Since there were still many tourists on the sightseeing car, and some people shouted evacuation at the scene, Xia Qing and his companions got on the sightseeing bus and left the scene.
A video taken by tourists from a height shows that at about 11:18 a.m., a black commercial vehicle drove onto the Shiguan Boardwalk, and after driving a distance, the front of the car suddenly lost control and rushed to the lake, and after sliding for three or four seconds, the front of the car fell into the lake. Video from another angle shows the car still relying on the planks of the pontoon for about 5 seconds before fully sinking to the bottom, and then sinking head-down into the water. At the same time that the car disappeared into the water, someone climbed out of the car and showed their heads on the water.
No life jackets and no safety tips
The overboard vehicle is a 9-seater vehicle. However, according to the public number of the scenic spot, on March 3 this year, the pontoon bridge of the Shiguan Scenic Area was closed to all vehicles because of the sinking water level. On March 7, Shiguan Scenic Area said that tourists can drive themselves to explore the pontoon, and only vehicles with less than 3 seats and a weight limit of 21.7 tons or less. The scenic notice board placed at the head of the Lion Guan Net Red Pontoon Bridge reads, "The pontoon is restricted to vehicles with 2 seats or less, and it is not allowed to go against the road, and the speed limit is 5 miles." ”
Tianyancha App shows that Xuan'en County Shiguan Tourism Investment and Development Co., Ltd., the operating company of Shiguan Scenic Area, was established in February 2005 with a registered capital of 2 million yuan, and Tian Haolin is the legal representative, wholly-owned shareholder and chief representative.
According to the live video circulating, the vehicle involved apparently had tire slipping and broke through the guardrail and entered the water after losing control. Why are 9-seater cars allowed on the bridge? The reporter tried to call the company on this issue, but as of press time, no response had been received.
Tourist Zhang Fangfang had taken a sightseeing car to pass by the Shiguan Pontoon Bridge on the afternoon before the incident. She told reporters that from the online video, compared with the water level of the lake where she passed the pontoon the day before, the water level on the day of the incident rose significantly, and the local area had heavy rain and slippery roads in the evening and early morning of the day before the incident, and she believed that such weather increased the safety risk of local tours.
Zhang Fangfang introduced that the total length of the bridge is about 500 meters, and the time for the car to cross the bridge is not long, but she pulled the guardrail on the car the whole process and did not dare to take out her mobile phone to take pictures of crossing the bridge. There are multiple speed bumps on the bridge, and after a speed bump car, the bridge deck also fluctuates, although there are railings on both sides of the bridge, but in Zhang Fangfang's view, these railings are relatively low and do not play a protective role. "The bridge deck is very narrow, the sightseeing car is open-topped, and there is no safety facility next to it, I feel that the whole facility is not perfect, I don't feel very safe, and I am a little afraid to sit on it." She said.
Xia Qing remembers that on the day of the incident, there were not many tourists near the Shiguan Pontoon, and the radio "Do not exceed 20 miles" was played on a loop at the entrance, and the sightseeing car that Xia Qing was riding left before it was full.
What made Zhang Fangfang and Xia Qing puzzled was that before going to the bridge, there was no link to wearing life jackets, and there was no life jacket device at the scene except for the life buoys tied every few meters by the bridge. In addition to the broadcast, there are no on-site staff to remind the precautions after getting on the bridge. "No one told us to sit firmly on the pontoon, pay attention to safety, not step on the feet, and no one reminded us to wear seat belts after getting in the car, there was no hint. The driver drove us alone and drove us over. Zhang Fangfang said.
Was it an accident this time?
According to information, the construction of the Shiguan Pontoon Bridge is Shanghai Qihua Water Engineering Construction Co., Ltd., this pontoon bridge was built in 2014, also known as the "Dream of the Covered Bridge", the bridge is about 500 meters long and 4.5 meters wide.
At noon on May 5, the company's staff told the Beijing News reporter, "The bridge has been delivered for 17 years, and there has never been an accident before, and this time it was an accident." The staff member said that the cause of the accident could not be determined at present, "It is still necessary to wait for the investigation results of the scenic spot and the government." ”
In an interview with the media in February 2022, the head of the company said, "The most important thing in the construction of the pontoon bridge is safety, and we have adopted the patented technology of the water anchoring system, which can ensure that the pontoon bridge can be used safely at a depth of 2 meters and a water level difference of 300 meters." ”
In March 2023, the person in charge of the scenic spot explained the safety of the pontoon bridge in an interview with Upstream News: "The pontoon itself is German technology and used for tanks. The pontoon bridge has no base, it is supported by a pontoon made of PVE, and under the power of water, it can overcome rigidity with softness. Secondly, the pontoon bridge itself is modified on the basis of a straight line, the bridge is sandwiched between two mountains, the closest distance from the mountain is not more than 3 meter, the center of the bridge is fixed by steel cables, when the car travels, the bridge will not produce a large distance of floating. Finally, our bridge is limited in weight and only allows cars under 1.2 tons. ”
Miao Jilun, a researcher at the Southwest Institute of Water Conservancy and Water Transport Engineering of Chongqing Jiaotong University, mentioned in an interview with the Beijing News that at present, there is no national unified standard for the construction of pontoon bridges in China. "Judging from the video, the guardrails of the pontoon bridge are indeed fragile, and in the absence of a unified standard, the occurrence of the accident should provide lessons for subsequent construction of the project."
According to Xuan'en News Network, in August 2019, when the weather was abnormal and heavy rain was frequent, in order to ensure safety, an inspection team was formed to carry out a four-day safety inspection of the Shiguan tourist scenic spot in the jurisdiction. The inspection team carried out a safety hazard investigation in the Shiziguan scenic area, implemented safety supervision and inspection, and issued a rectification instruction within a time limit for the scenic spot. The scenic rafting safety facilities are not in place, the pontoon bridge has not been evaluated for safety, and the rafting project is ordered to stop operation immediately, and the pontoon bridge is immediately prohibited from vehicle traffic.
Just a month ago, the website of the Enshi Prefecture Government showed that on April 4 this year, Xu Qiang, vice governor of the Enshi Prefecture People's Government, led a team to conduct a special equipment safety inspection in the Shiguan Scenic Area of Xuan'en County, urged and guided enterprises to improve management and maintenance work, and required enterprises to enhance their awareness of special equipment safety responsibilities, actively carry out hidden danger self-inspection and investigation, and prevent safety accidents.
On the afternoon of May 5, a staff member of the Enshi Prefecture Security Committee told the Beijing News reporter that the Shiziguan pontoon bridge had been professionally evaluated and issued an assessment report, and that Shiziguan was a large local scenic spot and was often inspected by departments at all levels, while the safety committee was mainly responsible for comprehensive inspection, and the specific daily safety supervision work was the responsibility of the Cultural and Tourism Bureau.
On the afternoon of May 5, the staff of the Enshi Prefecture Cultural and Tourism Bureau told the Beijing News reporter that the cause of the accident is still under investigation, and other questions will not be answered.
(At the request of interviewees, Xia Qing and Zhang Fangfang are pseudonyms)
Beijing News reporter Zhou Siya Li Bingjie Intern Zou Bingqian