(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-01-19 21:40

KUNMING -- Three people were confirmed dead after a bridge collapse in southwest Yunnan Province, a local government official said on Saturday.

A 10-meter middle section of the 150-meter Sunjiamachang bridge in Qujing City collapsed around 3:10 pm on Wednesday when a cattle-drawn cart loaded with coal was traversing it, said Wang Can, a Qujing Water Resource Bureau official.

Four villagers pushing the cart plunged into the Dumu reservoir when the section collapsed.

The body of the cart owner, Luo Laicun, was retrieved on Thursday afternoon. His six-year-old grandson was found dead by a passing boat shortly after.

One villager was rescued and is in hospital. The last missing villager was found dead at about 7 pm on Friday.

The bridge was built in the 1980s and was poorly maintained, according to villagers.

An investigation into the cause of the accident is under way.