A seven-ton electromagnet is to be used to salvage the missing
people and vehicles after a bridge collapsed in south China's Guangdong Province, local maritime affairs
department said on Sunday.
The 9,000-watt magnet, which has an attraction force of 30 tons,
arrived at the scene early Sunday evening. Initially it might be
used to salvage an object located 900 meters downstream from the
site of bridge collapse.
Experts suspected that the object was the debris of a vehicle
about 20 meters underwater. But it was not decided whether the
operation would be launched Sunday night, because the water was
flowing fast.
Earlier salvage efforts by frogmen failed because the water,
which is 33 to 36 meters deep, was beyond their working
conditions.
Rescuers then tried to hook the vehicles and pull them out with
cable, but this didn't work either.
Video images from traffic monitors showed four vehicles carrying
seven people, and two bridge workers were on the bridge when it
collapsed after being hit by a sand barge.
Six crew members, including their captain, have been detained by
maritime police.
The 1,600-meter-long bridge connects Jiujiang Town in Nanhai
District of Foshan to neighboring Heshan City.
Sections of the collapsed bridge fell onto the bow of the boat,
partially submerging it. All 10 crew members were rescued, and two
were released from hospital after being treated.
(Xinhua News Agency June 18, 2007)