Published 07:17 IST, August 23rd 2020
London's Tower Bridge gets stuck in open position, netizens quip it 'Has given up on 2020'
London's famous Tower Bridge on the Thames at the heart of the British capital was stuck open for few hours leaving traffic in chaos on Saturday.
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An uncanny incident that took place in London on Saturday, August 22 (local time) has got everyone recalling the nursery rhyme about London Bridge. The famous Tower Bridge on the River Thames at the heart of the British capital was stuck open for a few hours, leaving traffic in chaos and bystanders simply hysterical.
The iconic ancient bascule-and-suspension bridge failed to close after opening and froze midway allowing the ships to pass below in the river. As soon as the bridge was stuck in the open position, London police tweeted that the path was close for pedestrians and informed that mechanics were fixing ‘technical issues’. It took the authorities at least an hour to fix the glitch in the historical bridge and resume traffic.
⛔️ ROAD CLOSURE ⛔️
— City of London Police (@CityPolice) August 22, 2020
Tower Bridge is currently closed to pedestrians and traffic, due a mechanical fault. Mechanics are currently working hard to fix the bridge. Please find alternative routes. @Squarehighways @TfLTrafficNews
The Bridge experienced technical issues this afternoon and was locked in a raised position for a period of time. It has now reopened. Thanks to all those who fixed it 👍🏻
— Tower Bridge (@TowerBridge) August 22, 2020
#TrafficUpdate #TravelAlert Avoid the Tower Bridge area the bridge is closed. Please find alternative route ... Don’t forget #London Bridge is also closed , except for buses and cycles ⛔️ pic.twitter.com/0Y3Ek7QUqz
— London Traffic Watch (@LondonTrafficW1) August 22, 2020
The bridge built back in 1886 and 1894, is at least 244 meters long and its towers are 65 metres high. Despite the traffic being barred, most people took the situation in good humour and flooded the internet with pictures and videos with quirky captions. Take a look at some of the pictures here:
Netizens ask why London Bridge is ‘not’ falling down
Hundreds of internet users who were travelling through the Tower Bridge posted images on social media asking why the London Bridge is ‘not’ falling down. Hinting at the COVID-19 pandemic and many other instances that have left people ‘hopeless’ about this year, one of the internet users said that the bridge has ‘given up on 2020’. Some even took a dig on UK Prime Minister Borris Johnson, a Brexitier, and said the London Bridge does not want to function outside of European Union.
"London bridge is not going down, going down, going down,..." 🎶🎶🎶
— David Butorac (@theboot76) August 22, 2020
Even Tower Bridge has given up on 2020.
— Jamie Bolton (@JamieBolton) August 22, 2020
pic.twitter.com/QU6L2DxpKp
Scenes from Tower Bridge. pic.twitter.com/s2NXAHiMuv
— reverend61 (@reverend61a) August 22, 2020
London bridge is falling down ! Falling down ! Falling down~! 🎶
— Scytael Weihr (@Scytael) August 22, 2020
London Bridge is ... stuck open. 👀 https://t.co/WnYorj2uj4
— Geoff Pilkington (@geoffpilkington) August 22, 2020
Pity it isn’t “London Bridge is down” 😖😖
— Barb 🇪🇺🇪🇺 (@Barbaramusicals) August 22, 2020
London bridge is falling down falling down and da craw are flying away flying away the UK is failing! #indywales @yescymru join! https://t.co/DkROBojeH8
— #IC Financially Free Wales (@free_wales) August 22, 2020
London Bridge is falling up?!? #Abridged 😲🌉🚗⚓️🎢🚦🚑🇬🇧✌️🤣 https://t.co/Nu2Isg2SIh
— Boggs Leaño (@Liliboggs) August 23, 2020
(Image credits: AP)
06:54 IST, August 23rd 2020