9 missing after bridge collapse in southern China

BEIJING (AP): Rescuers searched Saturday for nine people missing since a bridge over a river in southern China collapsed after a boat rammed into it, state media reported. 

Surveillance videos showed seven people riding in cars and two workers on the bridge over the Xijiang River at the time of the collapse early Friday, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing Deng Genwei, vice mayor of Foshan city in Guangdong province. 

Divers and 10 boats were searching for the missing people, Deng said. 

An initial investigation showed that a boat overloaded with sand deviated from its original route and struck one of the bridge's support pillars, China Central Television reported. 

About 200 meters (yards) of the 1,600-meter-(yard)-long bridge collapsed, and part of the structure fell onto the bow of the boat that struck it. All 10 crew members were rescued, and two were slightly injured. 

The bridge was built in 1988 and runs over the Xijiang River, a major tributary of the Pearl River.