Dramatic Video Shows Footbridge Collapse During Mayor's Inaugural Walk

A frightening situation occurred during the inauguration of the new mayor of a Mexican city earlier this week.

Dramatic video shared online showed Cuernavaca Mayor José Luis Urióstegui and about two dozen others falling about 10 feet while crossing a footbridge over a scenic stream, the Associated Press reports.

The bridge, which was made of wooden boards and metal chains, collapsed and sent the group plunging into a gully of rocks and boulders.

Mayor Urióstegui later confirmed that some of the people on the bridge at the time of his inaugural walk had been jumping, possibly in an effort to make it sway.

“There were a lot of people jumping. That was reckless,” Urióstegui said via the AP.

The mayor also said it's possible that the large group -- which included officials and journalists -- exceeded the capacity of the structure.

“There were more of us than there should have been there,” Mayor Urióstegui added.

Four city council members, two other city officials and a local reporter were among the individuals that experienced injuries and needed to be taken out of the gully by stretchers before being transported to local hospitals.

Mayor Urióstegui confirmed that none of the injuries were critical and the worst cases involved broken bones or a blow to the head, adding that he took himself to the hospital due to "light injuries" before addressing reporters outside.

The Morelos state government said the footbridge, which was recently remodeled, was not part of a $340,000 riverwalk construction program launched in 2021 and possibly existed prior.