Suspension bridge collapse kills three in China

Three people were killed and five injured when an eight-lane suspension bridge in northeast China collapsed yesterday, only nine months after it opened, state media said.

The bridge, part of an airport expressway in Harbin city, opened in November after two years of construction that cost 1.9 billion yuan ($367.6 million), China News Service reported.

A 100m section broke off when four heavy trucks drove on to the bridge, plunging them to the ground and crushing them, said a CCTV news reporter at the scene. The bridge was designed to handle up to 9800 vehicles an hour.

Two people were killed on the spot, a third died later, and five were last night being treated in hospital, the report said, adding that authorities were investigating the cause of the accident.

The official Xinhua news agency said at least six major bridges had collapsed across the country since July last year.

China has rapidly expanded its road and rail infrastructure over the past decade as its economy has boomed, but critics say that safety has sometimes been overlooked in the rush to develop.

At least 40 people were killed when two high-speed trains collided near the eastern city of Wenzhou in July last year, and another train collision in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang on Thursday left at least 24 people injured.

A road also caved in in Harbin city last week, killing two and leaving a 10m wide hole.