For the first time in its nigh-on, 74-year history, a serious, structural accident has taken place on the iconic Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge. A fire, and the subsequent delay of train services which depend on the Bridge for their safe passage over the River.
At 18:01 yesterday, 8 August, the emergency services for China’s fire service that is 119 received the call. A fire had broken out adjacent to steel supports for the railway line by the Bridge’s main southern pier.
8月8日昨天18时01分，中国消防急救中心119接到报警电话。大桥主要南桥墩铁路线钢支架附近发生火灾。
Videos posted online by both media and local citizens show that part of the bridge burning and fire engines rushing to the scene, sirens blaring.
媒体和当地民众在网上发布的视频显示，桥的一部分着火，消防车鸣笛赶往现场。
The fire caused the immediate disruption of train services across the bridge while first responders got to work. At 19:40, the blaze was extinguished and train services resumed operation.
火灾导致桥上的火车服务立即中断，而急救人员则开始工作。 19时40分，大火被扑灭，列车恢复运营。
It is understood that it was a high-tension wire which caught fire. While the cause remains under investigation, questions are being asked whether the prolonged heatwave we are experiencing may be responsible. If so, it raises serious concerns regarding the dependability of infrastructure to such temperature extremes.
据了解，起火的是一根高压电线。虽然原因仍在调查中，但有人质疑我们正在经历的长期热浪是否可能是造成这种情况的原因。如果是这样，就会引起人们对基础设施在这种极端温度下的可靠性的严重担忧。
The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge is a legend in China. As the first bridge built across the river without foreign assistance, it has become something of a pilgrimage for Chinese people.
南京长江大桥是中国的一个传奇。作为第一座无外援跨江大桥，它已成为中国人民的朝圣之地。
Their pride is also the result the engineering involved. By way of example, the setting of the bridge’s piers on Yangtze River bed involved working at a depth of 80 metres underwater, a then-world record.
他们的骄傲也是工程设计的结果。例如，大桥桥墩设置在长江河床上，涉及水下80米的深度作业，这在当时是世界纪录。
Plans for the Bridge were originally proposed by the State Council at the end of the First 5-Year Plan.
大桥的规划最初是在第一个五年计划末期由国务院提出的。
In August of 1958, the Bridge’s exact location was agreed upon, as well as that it be a two-deck, dual-purpose rail and road bridge, with 10,000 ton sea-going ships also able to pass underneath.
1958年8月，确定了大桥的具体位置，确定为双层、公铁两用桥，可通万吨级海轮。
Construction, which began on 28 June, 1959, was to take over 9 years. The first trains passed over the railway section of the Bridge at 03:00 on National Day, 1 October, 1968, while the Bridge’s upper deck for road traffic was opened on 29 December of the same year.
施工于 1959 年 6 月 28 日开始，历时 9 年多。 1968年10月1日国庆日凌晨03时，首列列车通过大桥铁路段，同年12月29日大桥上桥面开通道路交通。
