The Phong Chau Bridge, a busy bridge in Northern Vietnam, has collapsed in the wake of super typhoon Yagi, plunging ten cars and two scooters into the Red River.

Three people were pulled out of the river and taken to the hospital, but 13 others are still missing, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc said on Monday (September 9).

It remains unclear if there have been any deaths.

The collapse took place at 10 a.m. local time in the province of Phu Tho, which is approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) away from Hanoi, the country’s capital.

Thirteen people are missing after the Phong Chau Bridge, a busy bridge in Northern Vietnam, collapsed in the wake of super typhoon Yagi

Image credits: Mail News

Image credits: dailymail

Part of the 375-meter (1230 feet) steel structure is still standing, and the military has been instructed to build a pontoon bridge as soon as possible.

Rescue teams have launched a series of operations in the area in an attempt to find more survivors.

Yagi, Asia’s most powerful storm this year, with winds of up to 203 km/h (126 mph), has killed more than 60 people since it made landfall in Vietnam on Saturday (September 7).

At least 44 victims were killed by landslides and flash floods, the country’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said. Among the victims were a one-year-old boy, a newborn baby, and a 68-year-old woman.

It remains unclear if there have been any deaths

Image credits: dailymail

The powerful storm also left 240 others injured and approximately 1.5 million residents without power.

Before hitting Vietnam, Yagi left 24 people dead across southern China and the Philippines, as per the BBC.

Nearly 50,000 people have been evacuated from coastal towns in Vietnam, with authorities issuing a warning to remain indoors.

Yagi, Asia’s most powerful storm this year, with winds of up to 203 km/h (126 mph), has killed more than 60 people since it made landfall in Vietnam on Saturday

Image credits: thinking_panda

Hanoi’s Noi Ba Airport, the country’s largest airport, resumed its normal activity on Sunday after suspending all operations due to the effects of the typhoon.

There have also been warnings of more flooding and landslides as the storm moves westward.

Typhoons in the region are now forming closer to the coast, intensifying more quickly and staying over land longer as a consequence of climate change.

Nguyen Minh Hai, who fell into the flooded river, told state Vietnam Television, “I was so scared when I fell down. I felt like I’ve just escaped death. I can’t swim and I thought I would die.”

“Heartbreaking to watch,” a social media user said