The mayor of the Mexican city of Cuernavaca was proudly inaugurating a footbridge over a scenic stream on Tuesday when the bridge collapsed, sending him and about two dozen other people plunging into a gully.
The hanging bridge made of wooden boards and metal chains had recently been remodeled. Video of the collapse suggested the boards separated from the chains supporting them.
Cuauhtémoc Blanco, the governor of Morelos state, where Cuernavaca is located, said the wife of Mayor José Luis Urióstegui and reporters were among those on the bridge when it fell.
The Cuernavaca city government said in a statement that four city council members, two other city officials and a local reporter were injured and had to be extracted on stretchers from the gully and were taken to local hospitals. There was no immediate information on their condition.
The city said Mayor José Luis Urióstegui was taken to a hospital and he had “light injuries and is out of danger”.
The crush of officials and journalists on the bridge during the inauguration may have exceeded its planned capacity.
Cuernavaca, located just south of Mexico City, has long been a weekend getaway for capital residents due to its abundance of water and balmy climate.
The footbridge was part of a river walk along one of the city’s many streams. Cuernavaca has undergone explosive growth and has largely ignored or polluted many of its waterways. The river walk was intended to be part of a revival of the city’s natural attractions.
