By John Ikani
At first sight, it looks as if the bridge was being held up by a ceremonial ribbon. One simple scissor snip at the opening ceremony and the whole thing collapsed.
The new concrete footbridge over a small river in part of the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo was backed by benefactor Hurlaine Badila.
Having wielded the scissors, she is seen on video desperately holding on to the jacket collar of another dignitary to avoid falling into the water.
Part 2😅😂😭🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/klFYdSk0ZL
— EveryNation💜 (@tsek_official) September 6, 2022
On the widely shared footage, cheers can be heard turning into shouts of concern as people rush forward to rescue those who were stuck.
Hours after the incident, a charity group in DR Congo says reconstruction has begun on a footbridge that collapsed during its inauguration – causing outrage on social media on the quality of its construction.
It is believed the footbridge was built by people who lacked the necessary skills and miscalculated the amount of cement needed in the concrete to make it strong enough.
The DJCEP charity that backed the project now says a new footbridge will be built at the same site that will meet safety standards.
It tweeted pictures of workers demolishing the old structure:
Déterminée à aider ses congénères de Bwadi, Hurlaine Badila de l'ONG DJCEP s'est résolue d reconstruire sur l même site un pont répondant aux normes sécuritaires. Ici sur image, la démolition d l'ancienne structure. pic.twitter.com/ZbtjNQfmvp
— ᏟᎬᏁᎢᏒᎪᏞ👑🇨🇩 (@central_sage) September 6, 2022
