Rescuers are searching for the people who were riding in two of the three vehicles that plunged into the Liaohe River in northeast China's Liaoning Province when a bridge collapsed Thursday.

The number of occupants of the two vehicles is not yet available, according to the search and rescue headquarters.

Two people who survived the tragedy by swimming ashore were confirmed to have been in the third vehicle, which fell into the 10-meter-deep river after the Tianzhuangtai Bridge in Panjin collapsed suddenly at about 7:00 AM.

Preliminary investigation indicates that a snapped girder led to the collapse. The bridge opened to traffic in 1977.

The Beijing News Daily reports that in 2000, the bridge was declared unsafe and a major renovation was conducted. On May 23 this year, tests were conducted to determine the bridge's load capacity, but conclusions had not yet been made.

Local residents said that a notice limiting vehicle weight is posted on the west end of the bridge, but that many overweight vehicles used it.

Construction materials and petrochemicals are produced in the riverside towns nearest the bridge.

Liaoning Vice Governor Hu Xiaohua went to the scene to oversee rescue operations, which started after the tide ebbed as the incident took place near an estuary at the time the tide was setting in.

(Xinhua News Agency, Beijing News Daily June 11, 2004)