A ship collided with one of the supporting pillars of a bridge spanning the Danube River near the Serbian town of Novi Sad, reported the Serbian news agency Tanjug on Saturday.

The Ukrainian barge "Prague" was travelling downstream toward Belgrade during the evening when it hit the central pilar of a bridge, stated Boris Oreb, head of the Port Authority of Novi Sad.

In the aftermath of the collision, the bridge was closed to road and rail traffic. According to Oreb, teams of inspectors determined the bridge did not sustain serious damage to the pillar.

As for the barge itself, it remains anchored until a detailed inspection can assess whether it is safe to continue its journey.

This is the second incident of this kind in two years and the 35th in the 12 years since the bridge's construction.

Oreb noted that more than 100,000 ships have passed under that bridge on the Rhine-Main-Danube waterway during that period as well.