Man Left Dangling From 330-Foot Bridge After Strong Winds Destroy Glass Panel [Photos]

Walking on glass-bottomed bridges can be a thrilling experience but what a tourist in northeastern China had to go through was an absolute nightmare — he was left dangling from a 300 feet high bridge after strong winds damaged the walkway beneath his feet.

The bridge, located at the Piyan Mountain resort in the city of Longjing in China's Jilin province, allows visitors to have an eyeful of the view below through the clear glass. The tourist was walking along the bridge Friday when he was left stranded halfway after strong winds of up to 150km/h knocked off its glass panels, The Straits Times reported.

Authorities managed to help the man safely get off the bridge. He was taken to a hospital and was given psychological counseling.

Images of the terrifying incident soon started circulating on China's microblogging platform Weibo, which showed the man crawling along the beam of the bridge to make it to the ground. The pictures have since been viewed millions of times.

"This is exactly why I dare not step on a bridge like that," a user wrote, according to Chinese media portal Xinhuanet. "How often did the bridge undergo maintenance?" wrote another person.

"So many glass deck bridges have been built in recent years are very popular with tourists. But how can we ensure their safety?" an internet user, identified only as Li, wrote in a post.

Following the incident, authorities closed the Piyan Mountain resort. A comprehensive safety inspection will be conducted in all tourist destinations in the area.

Glass bridges are key tourist attractions in China's mountainous provinces like Jilin, Jianxi, Hunan and Yunnan.

In 2018, the local government in northern China's Hebei Province prohibited the building of such bridges in areas with high seismic activity. Officials will also have to close the bridges during natural disasters and bad weather conditions, Xinhuanet reported.