EDIT CONTAINS 4:3 MATERIAL
Rough cut (No reporter narration).
An aging bridge in rural central China collapsed in the early hours of Saturday (November 5), bringing four vehicles with it into a river but leaving their drivers and passengers mostly unscathed, state media reported.
Two people suffered from light injuries in the accident that took place in central Henan Province's Xiangcheng city, state television reported.
A local official said an overloaded truck drove on the 34-year-old bridge despite a traffic ban and thus triggered the collapse.
Although age and a lack of maintenance have propelled local governments to slap "danger" labels on some bridges, the drivers would still risk driving across them in order to save time and money, reported state media, adding that another aging bridge nearby had also been closed.
The collapsed bridge was built in 1977 and was designed to support up to five tonnes, but Saturday's truck, loaded with sand, weighed 15 tonnes, state media said.
Although workers managed to hoist the vehicles out of the river, the bridge itself is perhaps a lost cause -- most of it has already sunk into the river.