Officials on Monday denied that a bridge in Hunan province collapsed on Sunday because of poor construction.
The 120-meter three-arch stone bridge that connected two townships in Pingjiang of Central China's Hunan province collapsed on Sunday morning after one of its piers was hit by three sand-dredging boats flushed downstream by flooding.
Nine people fell off the bridge, and as of Monday evening six were still missing.
Some news reports quoted local villagers as saying that the bridge was not reinforced with steel bars, implying the builders might have cut corners to save costs.
A publicity official with the Ministry of Transport said on Monday that the initial investigation by the provincial transport department does not suggest that the collapse was caused by poor construction quality.
"The bridge is a stone bridge with arches to support it. Not seeing steel bars on the site is natural," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The bridge was built in 1998. Inspections organized by the ministry last year showed that it was in good condition. The bridge was not among the 4,333 dangerous bridges found in Hunan province, the officials said.
"Before it was hit by the sand-dredging boats and fell apart on Sunday morning, the bridge has been impaired by floods on Saturday," she said.
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