(xinhua/China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-15 12:06

The death toll from a collapsed bridge in central China's Hunan Province has risen to 34 as of Wednesday morning after rescuers retrieved five more bodies from the debris.

The search is still underway, said sources with the local rescue headquarters.

The road bridge, which was being constructed over the Tuojiang River in Fenghuang county, collapsed at 4:40 p.m. on Monday, blocking the Fenghuang-Daxing highway. At least 123 workers were at the site.

More than 120 workers were removing steel scaffoldings when all the four arches of the 328-meter-long stone bridge fell in Fenghuang, a popular tourist destination.

The bridge, over the Tuojiang River and part of a national highway, might also have killed some swimmers and passers-by although their number is unknown, said rescuers.

Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday ordered the local governments and relevant departments to "do their utmost" in conducting the rescue operation and handling the aftermath of the accident.

He warned that "those who are responsible for the tragedy" will face the full force of the law.

Li Yizhong, head of the State Administration of Work Safety who reached the site with the minister of communications and vice-minister of construction yesterday morning, urged for intensified efforts to rescue victims and treat the injured.

More than 1,500 rescuers were searching for the victims, and 11 excavators were used to remove debris.

The bridge was part of the highway linking Fenghuang and Daxing Airport of Tongren in neighboring Guizhou Province. Construction of the 42-meter-high structure was almost complete except for dismantling the steel scaffoldings, which started last month.

It was scheduled to open to traffic at the end of this month.

"We didn't see any sign of a problem before the tragedy," said a worker at a site close to the bridge who did not want 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."