Rwscuers have found no signs of life on a cargo ship where they suspected four sailors were trapped after the vessel hit a bridge under construction in eastern China's Zhejiang Province yesterday.

More than 10 salvage ships were dispatched to rescue the missing crew since the ship collided with part of the lower span of the Jintang Bridge near the eastern seaport of Ningbo City at 1:15am yesterday.

The four are confirmed as the captain of the Qinfeng 128 cargo ship, two chief officers and one sailor, the local Life Ningbo reported today.

A 60-meter section of the bridge collapsed onto the ship and caused severe damage to the vessel's wheelhouse where some previous media reports speculated that the missing crew members might have been trapped in the cabin by the 3,000-ton collapsed section.

But as of 5 pm yesterday, rescuers detected no sign of life. Divers tapped the outside of the cabin and heard no sound.

Fourteen of the 18 crew on board had been rescued by 7 am yesterday, the report said. Previous media reports put the number of crew members at 20.

Nobody was working on the bridge at the time of the accident and the bridge was not yet open to traffic, according to the construction headquarters

The ship, with a capacity of 7,000 tons, was traveling north from Ningbo Port but might have taken the wrong route and struck the lower arch of the bridge.

The damaged vessel has not been removed from the site yet due to strong currents, the report said.

Local marine officials were concerned the ship may strike the bridge again and contaminate the river with oil, the report said.

Construction of the Jintang Bridge was suspended after the accident and ships are now restricted from the area, the report added.

The Ministry of Communications has set up a team to investigate the cause of the accident.

Construction of the 21-kilometer bridge began in April 2006 and is set for completion in 2009, at a cost of 7.7 billion yuan (US$1.1 billion).

In a similar accident last June, nine people were killed after a cargo vessel hit a section of the 1,600-meter Jiujiang bridge in Guangdong Province, causing part of the bridge spanning the Xijiang River to collapse.

(Shanghai Daily, March 28, 2008)