A bridge has collapsed throwing around 20 people including children into the sea.
The incident took place at a beach in Big Tavaisa Bay (Image: east2west news)
Tragedy unfolded today when a bridge suddenly collapsed, sending around 20 people, including children, into the sea near the Russian city of Vladivostok. Reports said there was “panic” in the water and on the shore as victims struggled to reach safety. There were fears people could have become trapped underwater after the rickety bridge gave way at Big Tavaisa Bay, a popular seaside spot on Russia’s Sea of Japan coast.
The unrepaired structure, dubbed a “Bridge to Nowhere”, collapsed in the water while it was being used by children to jump and dive into the sea. One report said: “Adults and children were screaming, and passersby rushed to help, pulling the injured onto the shore.”
Reports said there was “panic” in water and on the shore as victims struggled to reach safety. (Image: east2west news)
One boy reportedly lost a toe in the collapse, while a girl was rescued after choking on seawater and beginning to drown. She was dragged back to the beach, where emergency resuscitation was carried out.
A total of four people were reported injured, SHOT media outlet reports, with the child victims said to be aged 14, 15 and 16.
Another report said: “Men are continuing to dive near the bridge, searching to see if anyone else is still trapped underwater.”
The incident happened at Big Tavaisa Bay, a small inlet on Russia’s Sea of Japan coast near Vladivostok, which opens into Ussuri Bay in the Peter the Great Gulf.
Vladivostok is the biggest city in the Russian Far East and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai. Located on the Golden Horn Bay along the Sea of Japan, it is Russia’s primary Pacific port, home to the Pacific Fleet, and the eastern terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway
Swimming had been banned because of the presence of “dangerous jellyfish”, while access to the bridge was also prohibited.
Russian prosecutors have opened an investigation into the collapse of the structure.