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16 rescued after bridge collapse in NE China

By Hou Lei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-06-29 11:42

All 16 victims of the bridge collapse in Northeast China Monday morning have been rescued and no one is in critical condition, local government said.

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Seven trucks plunged into the Hulan River after a section of the Xida Bridge collapsed in Tieli City, in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province.

The accident occurred at 2:34 am as one side of the bridge suddenly collapsed, leaving seven passing trucks with 16 people in them to fall into the river.

“According to an initial investigation, an overloaded truck carrying steel and building materials is blamed for the accident,” said Zhang Yang, Mayor of Tieli.

Tieli has experienced three weeks of constant downpour. The wet weather was earlier speculated as contributing to the cause of the accident.

The Xida Bridge was built in 1973 and underwent maintenance in 1997. Local police have conducted traffic controls on the bridge as part of the investigation into the accident.