Pictures have emerged on social media this week showing a terrified tourist holding on for dear life when the glass panels of the bridge he was walking on were damaged in high winds.

According to CNN, the photo in question shows an as-yet-unidentified person clinging to the sides of the bridge, which spans two peaks of the Piyan Mountain range in the city of Longjing in China.

The unfortunate tourist, who has not yet been identified, had allegedly been attempting to cross the bridge during gale force winds that BBC News states reached up to 150km/h (90mph).

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As the wind speeds increased, at approximately 12:45PM, the panels of the bridge's walkway were blown away, leaving the man hanging over a dizzying chasm with a 330-foot drop.

Per The New York Post, after half an hour the man eventually managed to crawl to safety with the help of firefighters, police, and tourism workers.

Take a look at the bridge in the video below:

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The man was taken to a hospital, where he received psychological counseling to help him cope with the trauma of his ordeal.

Per The Post, a tourism official later claimed in an official statement: "The staff of the scenic area rushed to the scene as soon as possible, brought emergency equipment, and successfully transferred the trapped person to a safe area.

"There were no casualties. After being kept in the hospital for observation, the trapped person was in a stable emotional and physical condition and has been discharged from the hospital."

A glass bridge. [[imagecaption|| Credit: Alamy/Cynthia Lee]]

CNN reports that an image of the incident was shared by Chinese state media Xinhua on Chinese social media site Weibo, and the Post reports that it has since been viewed over 4 million times in the wake of the accident.

Since 2016, at least 60 glass bridges are believed to have been built across the country, the Straits Times reported, citing Earth magazine published by the Geological Museum of China. They are believed to provide tourists with an added thrill when visiting popular locations at a high altitude.

However, a number of local governments have established new safety guidelines for similar bridges.

For example, CNN reports that back in 2018 the Hebei Province, which boasts a 488-meter-long glass bridge of its own, released a number of new technical standards and regulations covering the design, construction, and maintenance of walkways in the area.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy/Priakhin Mikhail

Tourist dangles 330ft in the air as glass bridge in China is damaged by strong winds