China bridge collapse kills 22, leaves 46 missing

The 320-metre-long, nearly completed bridge over the Jiantuo River in Hunan's Fenghuang county collapsed Monday afternoon as about 125 people were removing scaffolding, the State Administration of Work Safety said.

 Rescue services had recovered 22 bodies and found 57 survivors, 22 of whom were injured, the administration reported on its website.

 The semi-official China News Service said 200 to 300 people were working on the 42-metre-high bridge when it collapsed in a matter of seconds.

 The bridge was part of a new highway linking Fenghuang with an airport in neighbouring Guizhou province and had been scheduled to open to traffic at the end of August, the agency said.

 Rescue workers and about 400 soldiers were using mechanical diggers to search the rubble for the missing on Tuesday.

 The cause of the accident was still under investigation, the reports said.

 The agency and other state media showed photographs of concrete and stone rubble from the bridge filling part of the river. The entire length of the bridge appeared to have collapsed.//dpa