Engineer probed in China bridge collapse kills self

An engineer investigated by police over a bridge collapse in China, where six vehicles plunged into a river and 12 people were reported missing, has committed suicide, officials said Monday.

The engineer, surnamed Yang, jumped off the eighth floor of a municipal building in Mianyang in southwest Sichuan province after being asked to participate in the police investigation into the collapse of the Panjiang bridge in Jiangyou, Xinhua reported.

Six vehicles fell into the Tongkou river and 12 people went missing July 9.

The engineer and the Mianyang Municipal Transportation Bureau are among 60 people and 17 organisations being investigated for the role they may have played in the incident.

A transportation bureau official surnamed Gou has been detained over alleged dereliction of duty.