THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The sea bridge at Valiyathura in Thiruvananthapuram broke into two and one part completely collapsed due to strong tidal waves. The incident took place at around 8 am today. The Rajathura sea bridge, which was rebuilt in 1959, is the one that collapsed.

Two years ago, the gate of the bridge was bent due to strong tidal waves. Following this, the then-Ports Minister Ahammed Devarkovil had announced that the sea bridge would be reconstructed. However, no action was taken after that.

The first steel bridge in Valiyathura was built in 1825. However, in 1947, the structure was destroyed after a ship named MV Pandit crashed into it. Many people died in this accident. This led to massive protests by the locals. Following this, the sea bridge was reconstructed.