3 bodies retrieved in bridge collapse

FOSHAN, Guangdong: The bodies of three of the nine people missing after the Jiujiang Bridge in Foshan collapsed were pulled from the Xijiang River yesterday, sources with the local civil affairs authorities said.

The 1,600-m bridge, which spans the Xijiang River, a major tributary of the Pearl River in South China, collapsed on Friday morning after being hit by a boat laden with sand.

Rescue workers yesterday retrieved five bodies from the river. Three of them were identified as being victims of the collapse, while the other two were men who had drowned in separate incidents.