A short span of a bridge collapsed late Monday just days before it was to open in Fushun, Northeast China's Liaoning Province.

It appears afternoon rains that halted construction also prevented injuries. 

An initial report issued by the city government says illegal construction caused the collapse.

Local residents said the collapse occurred right after the rain stopped and before workers had returned to the site.

"There was a big noise when the bridge collapsed," a man told Liaoning Satellite TV, saying he was eating dinner at home when he heard the span of the five-meter tall bridge fall. "My home is some 100 meters away from the construction site."

The bridge, which has a total length of just over 400 meters, is one of two bridges connecting Yueya Island with the northern bank of the Hunhe River.

The local government has invested 58 million yuan ($9.12 million) in the construction of the two bridges. No trouble has been reported with the other new bridge.

Fushun Road Construction Group Corporation won the bid to build the bridge in November.

At around 5:21 pm Monday, the third of 12 concrete sections of the bridge collapsed after support scaffolding gave way allowing one end of the concrete section to fall into the shallow river, according to an initial report by the local government Tuesday evening.

Han Zhijun, head of Fushun Urban Management Bureau, said that an investigation is underway by a group of experts and officials from work safety and quality supervision administrations. The bridge designer and the construction company are also involved in the investigation.

The city mayor, Wang Guifen, held an on-site meeting Tuesday morning to urge officials to make plans to investigate the accident and organize comprehensive checkups on three newly-built bridges linking Yueya Island, the Shenyang-based Liaoshen Evening News reported.