Preliminary investigation suggests the collapse that killed at least three people was caused by an overloaded truck.

At least three people have been confirmed dead in eastern China after a highway overpass collapsed and crushed cars below it, according to local officials.

Videos posted online showed a large section of the bridge in Jiangsu province swaying before falling on top of moving vehicles on Thursday night.

One clip posted on the social media app Weibo showed the bridge narrowly missing a small three-wheel car, whose driver leapt out and ran away.

Other images showed crushed cars, with only their front sections or headlights visible under a huge block of grey concrete.

A preliminary investigation showed the collapse had been caused by an overloaded truck, the Wuxi city government said in a statement on Weibo.

Three vehicles – including one that was parked and unoccupied – were crushed, and as many people were killed, according to the statement.

Construction and road accidents are not uncommon in China [China Central TV via Reuters]

Five vehicles were on the flyover at the time, including two trucks.

Construction and road accidents are not uncommon in China. In some incidents, poor construction standards have also been blamed for the incidents.

In May this year, at least 10 people were killed when a commercial building that was undergoing renovation in Shanghai collapsed.

In February 2018, at least eight people died in the centre of Foshan, Guangdong province, when a water leak inside a subway station construction site caused a major road to cave in.

In 2016, at least 20 people were killed when a series of crudely-constructed multistorey buildings packed with migrant workers collapsed in the eastern city of Wenzhou.

In 2011, construction flaws were cited for a train crash that killed at least 39 people.