Four missing as bridge collapses in Tibet

Four people went missing after part of a bridge collapsed in Tibet, plunging a truck into a river.
The accident occurred on the Tongmai suspension bridge on the Sichuan-Tibet highway in Bomi county yesterday, disrupting traffic on the arterial road in the southwestern autonomous region, local officials said.
Two of the missing were local villagers travelling on a truck that fell into the river when a part of the 258 meters long and 31.5 meters high bridge collapsed.
Two hikers, a 24-year-old woman from Jiangsu Province and a 25-year-old man from Anhui Province, were also missing after the collapse, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Traffic police were directing and dispersing vehicles and personnel away from the bridge. It would take at least one month before traffic could be resumed and vehicles have to choose other roads during this period, local transport authorities said.
The transport authorities also advised drivers and passengers to be alert as natural disasters are frequent on the Sichuan-Tibet road in the rainy season, the report said.