Slip

侧滑: (cè huá) slipped

On August 24, 2012, at around 5:30 a.m., a section of bridge collapsed in Harbin killing three and injuring five others.

After the accident, the government convened a press conference in which the Secretary of the Harbin City Government stated that a section of the road had "slipped." Netizens were critical of the government calling it a section of "road" (instead of a section of "bridge") and calling it a "slip" (instead of a "collapse”）.

The government initially placed the blame on overloaded vehicles (a common scapegoat in a string of similar accidents across China) and then launched a formal investigation. The government denied initial reports that the contractors could not be found.