Five people have been killed after a barge collided with a bridge over a waterway in China, causing part of the bridge to break off and plunging vehicles into the water, Chinese state media reports

The barge crashed into the bridge on Thursday morning on the Hongqili Waterway in the Pearl River Delta near Guangzhou city, the Guangzhou Maritime Safety Administration said in a statement.

Images on state-owned China Central Television (CCTV) showed an empty container barge lodged between two columns of the Lixinsha Bridge with part of the bridge’s two-lane road deck missing.

All road traffic on the bridge was halted.

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Four vehicles and an electric motorbike fell off the bridge.

Two vehicles, which included a bus, plunged into the water and three other vehicles ended up on the barge, CCTV said.

The bus was carrying only its driver.

“The accident resulted in five deaths (one bus driver, one motorcycle driver and three people in a van),” CCTV reported.

“Two people were treated in the hospital and their vital signs are now stable; one crew member of the ship involved in the accident suffered minor injuries,” the report added.

More than 100 emergency workers, including six divers, and about 15 boats and salvage vessels were involved in the rescue, said local media and officials at a press briefing.

CCTV said the accident was caused by inappropriate actions by the crew, citing a press conference by Lixinsha Bridge authorities.

Local officials said nearby residents had been evacuated and that the vessel owner was detained by officials, according to the Global Times.

Work to strengthen the bridge began in 2022 because of safety concerns but was repeatedly delayed, according to CCTV.

-Reuters