A tourist on a honeymoon with his pregnant wife was killed along with three others when an overloaded bridge collapsed into a river in the Philippines.

Michael Ouschan from Vienna, Austria, was with his partner Julia when the decades-old steel girder bridge strated to creak from the weight of the cars in Bohol province on Wednesday afternoon April 27.

The metal beams of the Clarin Bridge twisted before it collapsed in the middle sending at least 12 cars, trucks, and a tricycle down into the fast-flowing Loboc River below in the town of Loay.

Footage shows chaos as locals called for rescue moments after the bridge snapped sending dozens of people plunging into the treacherous water below.

Rescue teams on boats rowed towards the stranded victims who were stuck in the river. Some of them had climbed on top of their cars to escape the water.

An SUV that narrowly avoided falling into the river was suspended precariously between the pavement and the bridge.

The dead people were named by police as Michael Ouschan from Vienna, Austria along with Philippine nationals Arnes Silos, Emilia Gemina and Epifania Onada.

Police said that Michael was on a honeymoon with his pregnant wife, who survived the tragedy. She was taken to the hospital where she is recovering.

Local rescue units along with the Philippine Coast Guard, rushed to save the motorists and passengers trapped inside the sunken vehicles.

Responders reportedly had trouble with the search and rescue because of the water's depth, strong current, and murkiness. Strong rains in the evening forced operations to halt, but rescuers resumed early Thursday morning.

As of April 28, they have managed to rescue 23 people.

Bohol Governor Art Yap said the Austrian Embassy has been informed of Michael's death.

He said: 'We have contacted the Austrian Embassy about repatriating his body.'

The governor blamed the collapse of the old bridge on overloading and stationary traffic.

He said: 'According to Engineer Magiting Cruz of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the possible cause why the bridge collapsed was because the bridge is only for flowing traffic.

'There were a lot of vehicles on the bridge, and it could not take the weight. That's the reason why it collapsed.'

Bohol disaster chief Anthony Damalerio added that the bridge, which was built in the 1970s, had been weakened by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that jolted the province in 2013.

He said: 'This bridge was affected by the 2013 earthquake. There were some retrofitting interventions done by the DPWH. The new bridge is already under construction.'

Art said the replacement bridge, which began construction in 2018, should be passable 'in a few days'.