A $724,000 bridge collapsed right during its opening ceremony - VIDEO

In Indonesia, during the opening of a bridge, more than 50 people found themselves in a dangerous situation after one of its support cables came out of its fastening.

The incident occurred during the opening ceremony of the "Pongpet" suspension bridge in the village of Margacinta, Pangandaran Regency, West Java Province. The structure, whose construction cost approximately 724 thousand dollars, suddenly tilted when dozens of event participants stepped onto it at the same time.

According to local media, more than 50 people headed onto the roughly 60-meter-long bridge during the ceremony.

Among them were representatives of local authorities, military personnel, and residents of the district. When people began to cross the structure, one of the supporting cables slipped out of the fastening unit, after which the bridge sharply tilted to the side.

The resulting situation caused panic among those on the bridge. People tried to get off the structure as quickly as possible, and several people fell and sustained minor injuries. At the same time, the bridge did not completely collapse, since the main load-bearing structure remained intact.

After the incident, it turned out that warning signs with a limit on the number of people had been installed before the entrance to the bridge. According to the stated rules, no more than three people or one motorcycle could use the structure at the same time. Its declared load capacity is about two tons.

Thus, the number of ceremony participants who were on the bridge simultaneously significantly exceeded the established permissible limit.

Lieutenant Colonel Citra Kurniawan, commander of the military unit that took part in the construction of the structure, admitted that during the opening the necessary control over the number of people on the bridge had not been ensured, and apologized for what happened.

After the incident, the bridge was temporarily closed to visitors.