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China cruise liner crashes into bridge

A newly-built luxury cruise ship manged to collide with part of a bridge in China, chopping off the chimney after falling victim to high tide.

A newly-built luxury cruise ship manged to collide with part of a bridge in China, chopping off the chimney after falling victim to high tide.
Some witnesses said that the bridge, which is built over the Oujiang River, swayed slightly after the collision Credit: Photo: ChinaFotoPress/Getty

Captain Guo Lai, at the helm of the Pearl No 7 line in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, eastern China, also reportedly failed to take account of the fact that the £28 million ship - 518ft long and 98ft wide - was sitting higher on the water because there were no passengers or cargo on board.

Some witnesses said that the bridge, which is built over the Oujiang River, swayed slightly after the collision.

Yang Tao, chief engineer of the bridge's owner company, said the city's maritime safety department is investigating the cause of the collision.

Apart from the chimney, the ship did not suffer any major damage, although it returned to the shipyard for repairs.