Fire erupts on bridge under construction in Kazakhstan VIDEO

A fire broke out on a bridge under construction across the Irtysh River in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan, on the evening of January 31.

Emergency crews from the regional Ministry of Emergency Situations found that insulation and wooden formwork elements were burning on the bridge, Caliber.Az reports via Kazakh media.

“The fire originated about 30 meters above ground. Despite difficult conditions, firefighters quickly brought the blaze under control and extinguished it in a short time. The fire did not spread to the entire bridge structure,” the ministry said.

KazAvtoZhol reported that the incident occurred around 20:10 at the construction site of the Irtysh River bridge (road Kyzylorda–Pavlodar–Uspenka–Russia border, km 1381, pier No. 4).

The company stated that the preliminary cause was sparks or heat generated during welding work and that an investigation is underway. No injuries were reported.

Construction of a new road bridge in Pavlodar began in May 2024. The project is being built to replace the existing crossing over the Irtysh River, which is over 60 years old. The project’s cost is estimated at tens of billions of tenge.

By Jeyhun Aghazada