Suspension bridge falls in Cuernavaca; dozens reported injured

The suspension bridge collapsed due to "the imprudence of someone who jumped", says Cuernavaca's mayor. Of the eight injured, two are reported as serious; the rest of the passersby have minor injuries.

Suspension bridge falls in Cuernavaca; dozens reported injured
Cuernavaca suspension bridge collapses during reopening; mayor and officials fall.

A recently restored wooden suspension bridge fell while people were passing over it during the reopening of the Paseo Ribereño, in the Barranca de Amanalco Park, in Cuernavaca, Morelos, leaving at least 25 people injured, 8 of them seriously. The people fell from a height of about 3 meters, in an area with stones and water of the river crossing; they were making this tour together with the PAN mayor, José Luis Urióstegui Salgado, his wife, and other officials.

According to statements made by the mayor of Cuernavaca, the fall of the bridge was due to the imprudence of a person who jumped. "It was the imprudence of the person who started to jump. It did not resist the weight and about 20 people fell," said the mayor. When questioned about whether he knows who was the person who started jumping, the mayor said no, it was several people.

The mayor also acknowledged that there were many people on the bridge, "more than should be there". This statement takes relevance after several videos were disseminated on social networks where a subject is seen holding on to the metal structure of the bridge, he jumps and at that moment the construction falls; he remains hanging.

The people fell from a height of about 3 meters.

Hanging bridge in Cuernavaca, injuries reported

The head of Civil Protection of Morelos, Enrique Clement Gallardo, said in an interview with Milenio that of the eight seriously injured, two are reported as seriously injured; the rest of the passers-by have minor injuries. The official indicated that around 25 people were passing over the suspension bridge when it collapsed.

"It is a bridge that had just been restored, it was supposed to have complied with all the safety conditions, we do not know this part, we have not had information that it was going to be used, but at the end of the day a thorough revision should have been made," said Clement Gallardo.

The accident occurred during the reopening of the tourist zone inside the facilities of the Barranca de Amanalco Park, one of the most visited in the state capital. The injured were taken to different hospitals for medical attention. The governor of Morelos, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, informed that he is already coordinating with local authorities to help in the care of the injured people.