Work to clear the collapsed Nanfang’ao Harbor Bridge made significant headway Thursday with the removal of the bridge’s 300 ton arch.
The bridge’s sudden collapse on October 1 left six dead, all of them Southeast Asian fishermen passing in boats beneath the bridge at the time. The collapse has led the government to order bridge inspections nationwide.
With search and rescue and evidence-gathering complete, work has begun to dismantle and remove the wreckage.
Preparatory work to remove the bridge’s arch got underway Wednesday, with Taiwan’s heaviest marine construction platform brought in for the job. Work was delayed by rain, but was completed early Thursday morning. The wreckage of the arch is being towed away to a nearby port.
Work to pull up the fishing boats trapped beneath the wreckage of the bridge is also underway. One of the boats was brought to the surface Thursday morning after a difficult recovery operation.
Work is also set to begin on removing the parts of the bridge that are underwater, possibly on Friday.