24 Die in China Bridge Collapse

A bridge under construction in southern China has collapsed, burying dozens of workers under tons of debris and killing at least 24 people, officials said Saturday.

A 100-yard section of the almost-finished 160-yard bridge spanning a valley between Pingshi and Ruyuan counties in northern Guangdong province gave way Friday morning, an official of the local television station said by telephone.

Rescue workers, backed by police, had searched through the night for survivors under the debris, said an official from the health bureau in the nearby city of Shaoguan who had visited the scene.

“More than 90 people were working at the construction site when the bridge collapsed, and many of them were injured,” he said.

At least 24 people had been killed and 63 injured, said another local official who declined to be identified. However, the English-language Hong Kong Standard newspaper reported Saturday that 100 people were feared dead.

A resident living near the bridge estimated that about 100 people were killed or injured, most of them migrant workers from Henan and Hebei provinces.

The health official said most of the injured had cuts or broken bones and that the most seriously hurt had been removed to hospitals in Shaoguan for treatment.

Officials said the cause of the collapse was being investigated.