An overloaded truck might have been the reason behind the collapse of a bridge in Danyang city on Sunday afternoon, police said.

Danyang is located near Zhenjiang city in East China's Jiangsu province.

The 40-meter-long bridge collapsed into the river when a truck was driving across it at around 2 pm.

The driver kicked the door open and managed to swim away from the truck. A woman riding an electric bicycle also fell into the river and was saved by the truck driver.

Local police and government officials said that the truck, which was filled with pebbles for construction, might have been overloaded and might have caused the collapse.

Local police are searching for the truck driver, who had left the scene before they arrived.