A total of 11 persons were confirmed dead after an uncompleted bridge collapsed Saturday afternoon in a village in Gaozhou City, Guangdong Province, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The death toll has risen to 11 as of Sunday morning after two seriously injured persons died in the hospital on Sunday morning. Three others were still in critical conditions following the collapse of the bridge in Liangkengkou village.

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The bridge, which allegedly did not have government permit, was constructed upon the orders of village officials. The local government of Gaozhou had ordered the immediate halt of the construction of the bridge in April but sources said the project was resumed covertly during the May Day holiday.

A total of 26 people were pulled out from the debris of the bridge, with five of them being declared dead on the spot. Authorities said the contractor of the bridge is now under police custody pending an investigation.

At least a hundred rescue workers and volunteers helped in pulling people from the debris, Xinhua reported.

Bridge collapse is not something new in the world's most populated country. For a decade, several bridge collapses have been reported in the various parts of the country, with critics blaming the accidents to corruption.

In 2007, 36 people were killed when a bridge collapsed into the Tuo River in the tourist town of Fenghuang. More than a hundred persons were injured.

The collapse happened as more than 100 construction workers were working on the bridge, removing the supportive frame from the 140-foot-high bridge.

The said incident immediately triggered a thorough check on the existing bridges in the country after the public raised concerns on alleged rushed, shoddy work as construction firms scramble to bet deadlines.

TagsBridge collapse, China Bridge Collapse, Bridge Accident