Suicidal engineer involved in police investigation

A senior engineer who committed suicide Friday was one of several people who are being investigated by police over a bridge collapse that occurred in southwest China's Sichuan Province, local authorities said Monday.

The engineer, a man surnamed Yang, jumped off the eighth floor of the Mianyang Municipal Transportation Bureau last Friday after being asked to participate in an investigation into the collapse of the Panjiang Bridge in the city of Jiangyou, a municipal publicity department official said.

Six vehicles plunged into the Tongkou River and 12 people went missing in the collapse, which occurred on the morning of July 9.

The engineer, as well as the Mianyang Municipal Transportation Bureau, are among 60 people and 17 organizations that are being investigated by local procuratorate and disciplinary organs for the role they may have played in the incident.

Local authorities have detained a transportation bureau official surnamed Gou over alleged dereliction of duty, according to the local publicity department.