An investigation report released Thursday has determined the cause of a bridge collapse in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on Aug 6 last year that resulted in 5 deaths and 24 injuries and announced a series of punitive measures for the responsible parties.

The report, released by the region's emergency management department, found that the bridge had been built using pulleys instead of the cable saddles it had been designed for. The resulting lack of structural integrity led to two repair operations, neither of which followed basic construction procedures.

During the second repair, the main cable was changed and rerouted arbitrarily, upsetting the balance of forces across the bridge. The pulley spindles were too thin for the job, which caused serious wear and damage over time. The cable also shifted sideways and scraped against the edges of the rollers, essentially sawing into itself, until individual wires and bundles began to snap.

The report labeled the collapse as a relatively major work safety liability accident resulting from multiple parties violating laws and regulations and failing to fulfill their duties. Eleven individuals involved have been transferred to judicial authorities for investigation. In addition, five related enterprise personnel and 22 government officials have received disciplinary actions under Party and government regulations. Five production and operation units responsible for the accident have been punished, and 12 regulatory departments have been ordered to submit written self-examinations to their superiors.

The bridge resides in the Xiata Scenic Area of Ili Kazak autonomous prefecture's Zhaosu county. At about 6:15 pm on the day of the accident, the main cable on the southern side of the Jiangjun Bridge broke at the pulley atop Tower No 3, causing the second and third spans of the bridge deck to tilt. Visitors fell from the bridge, resulting in five deaths, five serious injuries, and 19 minor injuries, with direct economic losses of 20.32 million yuan ($2.97 million), the report said.