Floating bridges dismantled to reduce risks amid Yellow River freezing

JINAN, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Workers have removed 42 pontoon bridges across a frozen section of China's Yellow River lower reaches in the eastern Shandong Province to let ice flows pass in the plummeting temperatures.

"The ice density in the main part of the river has increased 10to 40 percent. In some sections, it has even surpassed 50 percent," said Dai Mingqian of the Yellow River Shandong management bureau.

"We hope the removal of the floating bridges will ensure a smooth ice flow," he said.

On a dike along the Yellow River in northern Jinan, the Shandong provincial capital, pedestrians had to backtrack when they found the floating bridge had been dismantled. Ice blocks as big as car wheels could be seen in the river floating eastward.

Local government officials said they had tightened surveillance over the ice flows in case of crisis.

The frozen section of the river expanded to nearly 600 kilometers on Monday as temperatures continued to plummet in the province.

The annual ice run was first spotted at the outlet of the Yellow River on Dec. 31, about half a month later than usual. Ice formations at the lower reaches of the river usually last to February. River freezing can pose a hazard to the safety of embankments along some narrow and winding sections where a large amount of ice always accumulates.

The Yellow River, the second longest in the country, originates in the northwest Qinghai Province. It flows through nine provinces and autonomous regions before emptying into the Bohai Sea.