Rescuers search for a missing person after a stone bridge collapsed in eastern China's Fujian Province on Sunday afternoon, December 16, 2007. (Photo: hxdsb.com)

Three people were killed and two others were injured with one still missing after a stone arch bridge under construction collapsed in east China's Fujian Province, the local government confirmed on Tuesday.

The 23-meter-high stone bridge, which was almost finished, collapsed around 1 p.m. Sunday in Chenqiao Village of Longyan City in southern Fujian.

"When I rushed to the construction site after I heard a crash, I saw Luo Meifeng buried under a stone tablet with only her head visible," said Fu Changxian, the first villager to arrive at the scene.

Luo was confirmed dead when pulled out from under the debris.

The other two dead were identified as Fu Mingfeng and Zhang Chunmei, who, like Luo, were local villagers working on the construction site and mothers of two children, according to local villagers.

The two injured were sent to a local hospital, where they are reported to be stable.

Rescuers are still searching for another villager Luo Qichang.

"The stone bridge was built by villagers themselves, without government approval and professional design," said Wu Dazhi, a local official.

The local government had turned down villagers' request to build a bridge because the construction site is located in a nature reserve, according to Wu.

(Xinhua News Agency December 19, 2007)