State Councilor Hua Jianmin Tuesday ordered for an immediate investigation into the cause of the bridge collapse in central China's Hunan Province that has left 29 dead, 22 injured and 30 missing.

 

Hua arrived at the accident site in Fenghuang County on Tuesday afternoon, accompanied by Hunan's Communist Party chief Zhang Chunxian and governor Zhou Qiang.

 

He visited a local hospital, where he extended condolences to the victims and sympathy to the injured and their families on behalf of the State Council, or the cabinet.

 

Hua urged medical staff to make every effort to treat the injured. He also asked the departments concerned to make all efforts to rescue the missing workers and made due compensation to those affected.

 

He ordered for an immediate investigation into the cause of the accident by a panel under the State Council.

 

The responsible persons will be harshly dealt with, he said.

 

Hua said lessons should be learned from the accident and construction sites all over the country should tighten safety management and check potential risks.

 

By 21:00 Tuesday, 29 had died and 30 were missing in the bridge collapse accident.

 

The highway bridge, which was being constructed over the Tuojiang River in Fenghuang County, collapsed at 4:40 PM on Monday, blocking the Fenghuang-Daxing highway.

 

At least 123 workers were at the site when the accident occurred. More than 1,560 people are still conducting search and rescue work.

 

(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2007)