You couldn't have timed it any better.
The universe works in mysterious ways, and sometimes, timing can be disastrous... or hilarious.
This was definitely the case at the grand opening of a bridge in the Democratic Republic of the Congo..
Footage posted by Africa Facts Zone on Twitter on Monday (5 September) shows solemn dignitaries cut the ceremonial ribbon... before immediately plunging as the bridge gives way.
https://twitter.com/AfricaFactsZone/status/1566905261805248513?s=20&t=mIR7z4caVS_XvSNtpSCPJw
The video shows a number of people standing on the bridge as a woman cuts a red ribbon, which appears to have been keeping the structure together.
The group quickly begin to fend for themselves, with the woman and a man in a suit battling to be the first to step off the bridge first before dropping along with their colleagues.
It wasn't long before the group was rescued by onlookers and press who were attending the ceremony.
There was no sympathy for those standing on the bridge, however, as onlookers can be heard cheering and laughing as the structure falls down.
No one was reported to have been hurt in the incident.
The video has, at the time of posting, over 50,000 likes on Twitter, and has been seen upwards of 6,500,000 times.
More footage broadcast on television shows the state of the bridge following the collapse, having completely split in two through the middle.
Men in high-vis jackets and builder's helmets can be seen assisting the dignitaries from the bridge at one end, with a number of soldiers remaining in the middle to oversee proceedings.
The footbridge itself was reportedly built to assist pedestrians to cross a river where a path would be submerged when the water level rose.
Safe to say, the bridge has catastrophically failed in that endeavour.
So, if you have ever been caught out in an embarrassing situation, and thought the timing was just a bit too perfect...
Just thank your lucky stars that there weren't any television cameras pointed at you.
