A 20-year-old bridge crossing the Xinjiang River in east China's Jiangxi Province suddenly collapsed on Wednesday afternoon, the local government said.

The 355-meter-long Bangluo Bridge in the city of Shangrao gave way without any apparent reason at 12:50 PM when the entire span disappeared into the water, leaving only nine piers standing, said Cai Huosheng, a villager who witnessed the accident.

"I was riding my motorbike and was about 10 meters from the bridge when I saw a mass of concrete fall into the river, making a splash several meters high," he said. "Within a minute or two, the entire span collapsed with a bang and disappeared. Fortunately, nobody was on the bridge."

An official of the county government said the accident was bizarre. She had past the bridge only 30 minutes before it collapsed and there was no sign it was damaged. She confirmed no one was killed or injured.

The local government has launched an investigation and has arranged ferries to help people cross the river.

The Bangluo Bridge was built in 1988 at the cost of 1 million yuan. It was 8.5 meters wide and seven meters tall. The structure resembled a traditional Chinese stone arch bridge.

(Xinhua News Agency May 10, 2007)