Four accidents occurred on the landmark Sinamalé Bridge in less than 24 hours after it was opened to the public Friday afternoon.
Local media reported two motorbike accidents while a social media user posted a video of the aftermath of a motorbike collision with a bus. No serious injuries were reported.
But police only confirmed one accident.
A “minor accident” took place around 1 am on Saturday, a police spokesman told the Maldives Independent. No one was injured.
Photos were circulating on social media about three accidents before 11 pm on Friday night.
Earlier in the day, the Maldives Transport Authority advised the use of helmets when driving two-wheeled vehicles across the 1.39km bridge. But helmets are not mandatory by law.
The speed limit is between 25 to 50 kilometres per hour.
A police circular cautioned not to drive with children who could not sit on their own and reminded drivers that overtaking other vehicles, changing lanes, or making U-turns on the bridge would be illegal.
A motorbike accident also occurred Friday on Malé’s ring road, which was reopened the previous night.
Stretching from the industrial village on the southwest corner to the Hulhumalé ferry terminal on the eastern waterfront, it is the only road in the capital with four lanes. Parking has been banned as a safety measure.
The outer road was rebuilt and expanded to 12 meters to accommodate buses and traffic from the bridge.
Financed with grant aid and loans from China and built by a Chinese company, the country’s first overwater bridge opened to traffic at 4 pm on Friday.
The US$200 million bridge connects the capital via the airport island Hulhulé to its suburb Hulhumalé, a reclaimed island under development as a new urban centre.
“How to use the Sinamalé Bridge.”
Photo from Twitter
