CLAIM: Lagos third mainland bridge collapses, resulting in loss of lives and sustained injuries

VERDICT: False. No accident occurred, and the attached photo is not from Nigeria

FULL STORY

A post circulating on X (formerly Twitter) claims that the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos collapsed yesterday, 23rd March 2026, causing deaths and leaving several people seriously injured. The post is accompanied by disturbing images of a collapsed bridge, which users are sharing as evidence of the alleged incident. X user @thatoyingirl321 made the post with the caption that reads,

“Just in: the third mainland bridge in Lagos collapsed 3 minutes ago while vehicles and pedestrians were passing there this morning. The bridge could not withstand the weight of the people and vehicles accompanying it and ended up collapsing into the lake. About 48 people lost their lives, and 15 people are in the hospital now. Let’s pray they survive this accident, and for the ones who lost their lives, may their soul rest in peace.”

Attached to the post are two photos to depict the accident. One of the photos shows a visibly broken bridge with a car at the edge. Since its upload, the post has attracted over 5000 views, more than 40 likes, and 20 reshares.

A screenshot of the X post

However, findings show that the claim is false. There is no record of any collapse of the Third Mainland Bridge, and one of the images being circulated is from an unrelated bridge disaster in Minnesota, United States.

No Evidence of Collapse in Lagos

Multiple checks across credible Nigerian news platforms, traffic updates, and official government channels show no report of a collapse involving the Third Mainland Bridge. Given the importance of the bridge as one of Lagos’ busiest transport routes, any such incident would have triggered immediate emergency response, widespread media coverage and official statements from relevant Lagos State authorities. However, none of these exists.

Traffic updates and regular routine activity on the bridge further contradict the claim, indicating normal use rather than a disaster scenario, in which case many road users would have documented their experience, one way or the other.

Oluwadamilola Jayeola, Public Relations Officer, Lagos Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), in a telephone conversation with NDRFactCheck, said that the reported incident is false, as such an accident cannot happen without the command knowing about it.

“There is no credible information concerning this report. As a matter of fact, such an incident can’t happen on the island without the whole of Lagos having a feel of it.”

Misleading Image Traced to the United States

Findings by NDRFactCheck revealed that one of the images used to support the claim does not originate from Nigeria. The photo is linked to the well-documented collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which occurred on August 1, 2007.

According to reports, the incident happened during evening rush hour, when the bridge suddenly gave way and fell into the Mississippi River, killing 13 people and injuring 145 others.

Investigations later found that the collapse was caused by a design flaw involving undersized structural components known as gusset plates, combined with the weight load on the bridge at the time.

Images from that tragedy have remained widely available online and are often reused in misleading contexts, especially during breaking news or crises.

A close observation of the photo also shows that there are clear inconsistencies between the viral image and the Third Mainland Bridge. The Minnesota bridge was a steel truss structure, visually different from the design of the Lagos bridge. Also, the surrounding environment in the image does not match Lagos’ coastal landscape. These differences further confirm that the image is being misrepresented.

How the False Claim Spread

The viral post follows a familiar misinformation pattern of exaggerated claims involving infrastructure collapse, use of real but unrelated disaster images, and lack of verifiable sources or timestamps.

By attaching authentic images from a past disaster and from another, the post creates a false sense of credibility and urgency, prompting users to share without verification.

False claims about major infrastructure like the Third Mainland Bridge can cause unnecessary panic among residents, disrupt movement and economic activity. In a city like Lagos, where millions rely on the bridge daily, such misinformation can have real-world consequences.

CONCLUSION

The claim that the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos collapsed is not true. There is no credible report of such an incident.

The image used as evidence is from the 2007 Minnesota bridge collapse in the United States and has been falsely linked to Lagos to mislead the public.

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