The 328m-long, 42m-high Tuojiang River bridge collapsed on Monday afternoon when an estimated 123 workers were dismantling its steel scaffolding. Sixty-four workers escaped or were rescued but rescuers are still searching for some two dozen victims thought to still be buried in the debris.

The four-arch bridge was to intended to link the tourist spot of Fenghuang County with Daxing airport in Tongren City, in the neighbouring Guizhou Province. Construction started in March 2004 and had been scheduled to open to traffic at the end of the month.