WATCH: 2 killed as cargo ship rams bridge in China's Guangzhou, sending vehicles into water

Two people died, one injured and three remain missing after a cargo ship in China’s Guangzhou rammed into a bridge, sending five vehicles, including a public bus, plummeting into the Pearl River.

The accident occurred in the early hours of Thursday when an empty container ship, en route between Foshan and Guangzhou, hit a pier of the Lixinsha Bridge leading to collapse of part of the beam in the Nansha district of Guangzhou, 90-odd km northwest of Hong Kong.

According to a report by CCTV, the impact with the bridge pillars led to the collapse of the roadway above. The visuals of the accident in China show a fractured section of the bridge with the ship lodged beneath it. The cause of the incident remain unclear.

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A cargo ship rammed into Lixinsha Bridge (沥心沙大桥) over the Pearl River in Wanqingsha Town (万顷沙镇), Nansha District, Guangzhou, at around 5:30am Feb 22. A whole section of the bridge is gone and several vehicles fell into the river.

The cargo ship was traveling from… pic.twitter.com/YY3o1sQRUc

— Byron Wan (@Byron_Wan) February 22, 2024

As per the preliminary investigation, of the five vehicles, including a bus and a motorbike that fell off the bridge, two plunged into the river and the others fell onto the vessel.

The accident also disrupted the morning peak commute also it is worth mentioning that the Lixinsha Bridge on the Hongqili Waterway is the main transportation route for Sanmin Island residents.

A Beijing News report quoted a local national legislature representative saying the captain of the cargo ship has been arrested.

The ship was en route to Nansha from Foshan’s Nanhai district.

As per reports, the plans for the improvement of the bridge had been postponed on three separate occasions, raising doubts about potential infrastructure concerns leading to the tragedy.

Due to safety concerns, work to strengthen the bridge began in 2022, but the Guangzhou’ transport department reported repeated delays, extending the completion date for the anti-collision and strengthening works from August 2022 to the same month this year.

With inputs from agencies