(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-14 20:34

FENGHUANG, Hunan -- The death toll from a collapsed bridge in central China's Hunan Province has risen to 28 after rescuers retrieved six more bodies from the debris Tuesday afternoon.

The road bridge, which was being constructed over the Tuojiang River in Fenghuang county, collapsed at 4:40 pm on Monday, blocking the Fenghuang-Daxing highway. At least 123 workers were at the site, according to earlier calculations, but more than 1,560 rescuers are still trying to determine the exact number.

A total of 86 people have escaped or been rescued, of whom 22 were injured, including five who are still in a critical condition, said sources with the local rescue headquarters.

"We didn't see any sign of a problem before the tragedy," said a member of staff at a scenic site close to the bridge who declined to be named, "I heard the sounds of the crash and before I could realize what was happening, I saw the bridge fall slowly and become a pile of rocks."

Sitting by the Tuojiang River, 29-year-old Tian Jing, who was working to build the bridge, is still in shock. He came to work at the bridge from Tuanjie Village in Fenghuang only a month ago.

"I was dismantling the scaffolding when some pebbles fell down, " he recalled. Only minutes later he heard someone shouting, "The bridge is collapsing." Tian ran for cover but his fellow villagers were not as lucky.

"Three of my fellow villagers were buried in the debris," he said, "they are dead."

Mechanical diggers and sniffer dogs are being used to locate the missing workers.

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