Overloaded trucks officially blamed for collapse in Wuxi

The collapse of an overpass in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, which killed three and injured two, was caused by heavily-overloaded vehicles, according to the country's transport authority on Thursday.

The collapse of the upper span bridge, which is 82 meters long and 9.5 m wide, happened on Oct 10 at the section of National Highway 312 in Wuxi after two excessively overloaded trucks carrying piles of steel coils used the overpass in succession.

A woman and her 5-year-old daughter were crushed to death in their car. A man in another car was also killed, and two other people were injured.

Zhou Rongfeng, deputy head of the Ministry of Transport's road network management department, said at a news conference that the two trucks, each carrying more than 100 metric tons of steel, caused the accident.

Zhou stressed that the overpass itself was structurally sound.

"The bridge was constructed in 2005 and passed the acceptance check in 2007.

"The main body of the bridge is complete without any breakage or transverse cracks, and its design meets relevant standards," Zhou said.

A preliminary investigation suggests that an overweight semitrailer passing over the bridge caused the overpass to tip to one side, he said. The investigation of the accident is ongoing.

The ministry will step up efforts to strengthen the quality and management of highway and waterway projects in a bid to better protect people's safety, according to Wu Chungeng, spokesman for the ministry.

The ministry has launched a three-year safety inspection to rectify potential hazards in construction projects on highways and waterways, boost safety awareness, and punish violations of laws and regulations, he said.

More than 2.29 trillion yuan ($327 billion) was spent on transport infrastructure in the first three quarters of the year, with more than 1.67 trillion yuan going to roads and waterways, Wu added.