CHAIRMAN: DR. KHALID BIN THANI AL THANI
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: DR. KHALID MUBARAK AL-SHAFI

World / Africa

Bridge collapses during ribbon-cutting ceremony in Congo

Published: 07 Sep 2022 - 03:44 pm | Last Updated: 07 Sep 2022 - 03:48 pm
A screengrab from the video.

A screengrab from the video.

Reuters

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo: Sharply-suited dignitaries gathered to inaugurate a footbridge in the Congolese capital on Monday only for the structure to collapse beneath their feet to the barely concealed delight of onlookers, video verified by Reuters showed.

Just as an organiser cut the ribbon at the ceremony in Kinshasa's Mont-Ngafula district, the bridge buckled, both its handrails broke off, and the central section slumped into the stream a couple of metres below.

Spectators shouted in apparent glee as the VIPs struggled to get off the crumpled wreck. Nobody was reported to have been hurt in the incident.