China bridge death toll rises to 41

BEIJING: The death toll from the collapse of a new bridge in central China rose to 41, the government said on Thursday, as reports emerged that the structure was likely built with second-rate material.

The 328-metre bridge over the Tuo river in Hunan province crumbled on Monday as workers were removing steel scaffolding erected during its construction, the State Administration of Work Safety said.

The administration reported the latest death toll as 41. A Xinhua news agency report said another two dozen victims were thought to still be buried in the debris.

At least 123 workers were at the construction site when the bridge collapsed. Of those, 63 escaped or were rescued from the rubble, 22 were injured, the administration said in a statement.

A work safety official said the chances of survival for the missing victims were slim.

"Because the collapsed piers are rather heavy and cannot be easily moved... there is little chance of survival for people who are still underneath," An Yuanjie, spokeswoman for the administration, said.

But rescue works continue while officials are still trying to confirm the number of victims, she said.

News reports suggested that shoddy work was probably to blame.

Workers who had been dismantling the steel scaffolding told the Beijing News they had found big gaps in the bridge structure, and that loose pieces of stone were used instead of cement in the construction.

The paper also quoted a Beijing-based engineering professor as saying that the collapse was likely caused by shoddy construction.

"Loose pieces of rocks can be seen at the breaking points. The quality was sub-standard obviously," he said, adding that no steel structure or solid masonry had been used.

Xinhua also cited a local official as saying that stone and concrete had been used when steel was the much safer option.

The construction of the four-arch bridge, scheduled to open at the end of this month, was to link scenic Fenghuang county to an airport in neighbouring Guizhou province.

The bridge was built by Hunan Provincial Road and Bridge Construction Company, a firm owned by the Hunan provincial government.