The Tangying Bridge in Henan province collapsed on Saturday.

At least 37 people are dead - and 19 others are missing - in Henan province after the Tangying Bridge collapsed into the Yihe River in Tangying village, Luanchuan county, on Saturday. 

Over 4,000 people, including soldiers from Luanchuan and nearby Songxian county, are searching the area for possible survivors and the bodies of the victims, according to Li Guangming, the deputy head of Luanchuan government office.

Six people were rescued, and are being treated at a local hospital.

Li Xianghong, from Dawangmiao village, is one of the survivors, and he says that he was one of the many people who were watching the floods from the bridge. "The southern part of the bridge fell first. We all fell into the river. The next thing I knew - I was holding onto a willow tree 200 meters away from the bridge," he says.

A villager surnamed Li said the bridge was repaired last year after it "partly collapsed".

An official with the Luanchuan transport bureau said trees which were toppled by the rainstorms  caused extra pressure on the bridge, causing it to collapse.

The provincial transport bureau of Henan is investigating the cause of the accident.

PLA soldiers search the river for victims as well as possible survivors.