Strong winds and waves cause walkway collapse of Baiyang Lake in Anxin County, injuring 14 tourist, July 30, 2016.（Photo/Chinanews.com)
(ECNS) - Fourteen tourists were injured, including three critically, after a walkway collapsed at a top tourist attraction in North China's Hebei Province.
Baiyang Lake in Anxin County is a large freshwater lake in the province and classified as an AAAAA scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration, the highest in China's tourism rating system.
The collapse occurred on Saturday afternoon when the lake's Yuanfei Lotus Park was hit by strong winds and rainfall. Waves rolled one meter high and visibility was reduced to three meters.
Park staff Liu Weidong said this was the worst weather he had experienced in 40 years, and the long pathway, used to appreciate the lotus, collapsed after many tourists rushed to seek shelter.
Zhao Lin, director of the county's tourism bureau, said the collapse of the 60-meter-long footpath injured five men and nine women, including three suffering serious facial injuries, thigh fractures and broken ribs.
The county has closed the park and launched a comprehensive safety check. The other sites at the lake are operating as normal.
