Across China: Guangdong

Court case begins

Guangzhou Maritime Court started hearing a case on Friday involving the accident in which the 1,600-m Jiujiang Bridge in Guangdong province collapsed after being hit by a sand barge on June 15, killing nine people.

The owner of the bridge, Guangdong Foshan-Kaiping Expressway Co, sued the owner and operator of the barge for the estimated 25.58 million yuan ($3.7 million) loss in toll fees in six months since the bridge collapsed. Since the bridge remains closed to traffic, the compensation claimed is expected to be higher than the estimated loss.