At least three people killed as bridge collapses in China

Three people died and two were injured when a highway bridge collapsed on Thursday in China's eastern province of Jiangsu, state news agency Xinhua said.

Videos posted online showed a large section of the bridge in Jiangsu province swaying before falling on top of moving vehicles on Thursday night.

The bridge, in the city of Wuxi, fell on three cars below, killing three people in two of the vehicles, although the third vehicle was empty, it added.

Three cars and two trucks fell from the bridge as it collapsed.

City and transport ministry officials are investigating the cause of the accident, the agency said.

Construction and road accidents are not uncommon in China. In some incidents, poor construction standards have also been blamed for the incidents.

In May this year, at least 10 people were killed when a commercial building that was undergoing renovation in Shanghai collapsed.

In February 2018, at least eight people died in the centre of Foshan, Guangdong province, when a water leak inside a subway station construction site caused a major road to cave in.

In 2016, at least 20 people were killed when a series of crudely-constructed multistorey buildings packed with migrant workers collapsed in the eastern city of Wenzhou.

In 2011, construction flaws were cited for a train crash that killed at least 39 people.