Rail bridge mysteriously disappears in Russia, photos go viral

MURMANSK: A criminal case has been filed against alleged theft of 56 tonnes of metal and 23-metre rail bridge over Umba river by scrap metal thieves.

The case came forth from Russia’s Arctic region of Murmansk after suspected metal thieves allegedly stole the portion of the bridge.

The aerial photos dated May 16 of the rail bridge went viral on Russian social media sites which later ended up into initiation of a thorough investigation by the higher authorities.

The aerial footage also showed that the central span of the bridge had fallen into the river but there was no trace of the section or of any debris.

According to the Moscow Times, “Natural phenomena could not bring down the bridge,” wrote the VK page that initially posted the pictures. “Metalworkers likely pulled the structure into the water, where they slowly took it apart for scrap parts.”

According to local daily Znak, the preliminary material damage amounted to 600 thousand rubles.

Residents immediately speculated that the bridge had been stolen and submitted a statement to Kirovsk city’s police department. However, they did not believe it initially and thought the owners themselves may have dismantled the bridge.

Later, the Kirovsk prosecutor’s office decided to investigate the matter.

“According to investigators in May 2019, an unidentified person secretly stole metal constructions of length out of mercenary motives,” the official website stated.