Bridge collapses while being commissioned in the DR Congo

The moment a bridge collapsed during its opening ceremony has been caught on camera. 

A short clip appears to show dignitaries in DR Congo snipping a red ribbon as they declare the new structure open, but as soon as the ribbon is cut, the bridge collapses beneath them.

The chaotic inauguration ceremony was shared by Twitter account @AfricaFactsZone and has racked up thousands of retweets. Watch the footage below:

The clip was captioned: “Bridge collapses while being commissioned in DR Congo,” however, no further details were shared about the incident. 

UNILAD has approached AfricaFactsZone for more information. 

It didn’t take long for thousands of comments to pile up below the footage, with one person writing: “Wait! I thought this was a comedy skit initially.”

Another added: “It’s like the ribbon was holding it together,” while a third penned: “I am in shambles.”

It’s not the first time the Democratic Republic of the Congo has made headlines in recent days. The country was also in the news on 31 August when it was reported that suspected rebels had killed at least 14 civilians in the country’s east. 

Days later, the World Food Programme (WFP) confirmed a United Nations helicopter had crashed in the North Kivu province while flying over the country. 

robertharding / Alamy Stock Photo

Speaking in the wake of reports that rebel attacks in the Ituri province had left dozens dead, Biakato resident Augustin Kyala Malembe told Aljazeera: “The nature of the attack was terrifying. They looted my shop before taking five members of my family into the bush. The army intervened but the damage was done.”

The attack was blamed on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan militia that has been active in east DR Congo since the 1990s and often stages deadly raids on nearby villages. 

The Islamic rebel group was once primarily concerned with domestic grievances in Uganda, however, attacks are now increasingly occur under allegiance to the Islamic State.

The ADF was formed in eastern Uganda as a call to arms against long-serving President Yoweri Museveni, who the group alleged led the government’s persecution of muslims.

In 2001, the ADF relocated to the DR Congo’s North Kivu province after being beaten by the Ugandan army.

Then, on 2 September, the WFP confirmed a UN Humanitarian Air Service chopper had gone down near the city of Goma.

The WFP provides food and cash assistance to the tens of thousands of vulnerable people in the DR Congo.

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