Suspension Bridge Collapses, New Zealand Hikers Plunge Into River [Video]


After a suspension bridge collapsed, New Zealand hikers were sent plummeting down into the river below while they were encumbered by heavy packs. Fortunately, the group of tourists survived the collapse of the Lake Waikaremoana Track bridge, and now they are sharing the video of their misadventure.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, China has opened a new suspension bridge with a glass bottom which offers a clear view of the 3,500 foot drop. Unfortunately, the scary skywalk turned into a horror story when a steel cup caused one of the glass planes to crack and shatter along the walkway.

Four French hikers may have wished they were on China’s suspension bridge rather than the Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk in New Zealand’s Te Urewera National Park. The suspension bridge is measured at approximately 215 feet, and it hangs 28 feet over a river. Although the suspension bridge is rated for holding 10 people at one time, the French hikers have video evidence that this is not always the case.

According to Roland Dades, the French hikers were making a four day march around Lake Waikaremoana. The hike went well and they were nearing the end of their 46 kilometer journey went they came to their last suspension bridge crossing. The sign posted nearby claimed that it could hold 10 people, so they proceeded to cross. That is when the hikers said they heard the sound of a “thud” about half way across the suspension bridge, one of the two cables has detached, and before they knew they were thrown into the void.

After the bridge collapsed, New Zealand hiker Effie Belle described what happened next. She says she slowly stood up after the impact with the water, and she checked to make certain nothing was broken. Another hiker, Enzo, was also thrown into the river, and he was already standing up in water up to his knees. She also spotted a hiker named Adrien a little further away, but hiker Roland was nowhere to be found.

Effie says she looked up and found Roland still managing to cling to the broken suspension bridge. He ws slowly climbing to the other side, but the other three all scrambled across the river since they were afraid that the other cable could snap and send the bridge plummeting down on top of them.

After the suspension bridge accident occurred, New Zealand’s Department Of Conversation (DOC) took their statements. The French hikers claimed they tried asking about the bridge’s maintenance procedure, but did not receive any answers at the time.

“No response is given, [so] we will learn later through newspapers answers to our questions,” she wrote.

New Zealand Bridge Collapses French Hikers
The four French hikers, Roland, Effie, Enzo, and Adrien [Image Via Roland Dades’ blog]
The DOC has said that an investigation is underway, although they do say the collapse was caused when a cable on the Hopu Ruahine bridge on the Lake Waikaremoana Track “released” on accident.

“As a result that has upset the stability of the bridge and that’s where people that were on the bridge have slipped off and fallen,” said DOC operations manager Mike Slater, according to the New Zealand Herald. “Fortunately other than some scratches and a little bit of bruising, they are not seriously injured. That’s a very fortunate outcome.”

Admitting they are puzzled by the bridge collapse, New Zealand’s DOC says that the Hopu Ruahine bridge was last inspected in September of 2014. Slater says a full engineering inspection is done ever six years, but every second year a “qualified departmental inspector” also checks out the bridges. In addition, a full load testing is done every 12 years.

“An event such as this is extremely rare occurrence and we just need to understand in this particular case exactly what did happen,” Slater added.

After the bridge collapses, New Zealand officials say it is now closed as engineers try to determine exactly what happened.

[Image via Roland Dades blog]

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