Rescue teams were today searching for survivors after a bridge collapsed into a river killing four people including a tourist on a honeymoon with his wife in the Philippines.

Footage shows responders on boats and rafts rowing through the Loboc River after the steel truss Clarin Bridge bent in half in Loay town, Bohol province on April 27. At least 12 vehicles plummeted into the water, prompting a frantic search and rescue for the motorists and passengers.

A group of divers armed with flippers and oxygen tanks later joined the search, jumping into the river to scour its deeper parts. However, they reportedly had trouble because of the water's depth, strong current, and murkiness. Strong rains in the evening forced operations to halt, but rescuers resumed the operation early Thursday morning.

As of April 28, they have managed to rescue 23 people. Four people were reported dead.

The casualties 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, Julia, who survived the tragedy. She was taken to the hospital where she is recovering.

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'.