GUANGZHOU: The Jiujiang Bridge had no structural defects before it collapsed after being rammed by a boat over-laden with sand, according to an initial safety study released yesterday.

The 1,600-m bridge, which spans the Xijiang River, a major tributary of the Pearl River in South China, collapsed on Friday morning.

Four vehicles fell into the river and nine people were missing.

"The Jiujiang Bridge was built according to strict safety standards," Chen Guanxiong, deputy director of the Guangdong provincial communications department, told a press conference yesterday.

The bridge was built early in 1988, with its piers designed to withstand an impact of 1,200 tons and its arches 40 tons, all exceeding the safety standard, Chen said.

According to Yao Lingsen, a bridge expert with Tongji University, the impact of the crash must have exceeded the piers' capabilities.

He urged related departments to further examine the bridge before it is repaired in the second half of this year.

Local communications authorities said the damaged part of the bridge would be repaired, rather than being completely demolished.

Guangdong has started a campaign to inspect all bridges, Chen said.

"Maintenance work on bridges will begin after the overall safety assessment.

"We will closely monitor overloaded vehicles using bridges and the illegal mining of sand at riverbeds," Chen said.

(China Daily 06/21/2007 page5)