TAIPEI, Taiwan: A towering arch bridge over a bay in eastern Taiwan collapsed on Tuesday, sending an oil tanker lorry falling onto boats in the water below.

The search for victims involved an air force helicopter and more than 60 army and navy personnel, including divers.

Six people are believed trapped on one of the boats. About five people were feared to have been on the bridge when it collapsed.

Ten people were sent to hospitals, six of them with serious injuries. Of the 10 people hospitalised, six are Filipinos and three are Indonesians.

Other reports said at least 14 people were injured.

Fishing boats were helping to search for the missing.

The bridge collapsed about 9.30am in Nanfangao, a tiny but often-crowded Pacific coast fishing village.

The weather at the time of the collapse was sunny, hours after a typhoon swept across parts of the island. Disaster relief officials would not say if the storm had weakened the bridge or give other details on the potential cause. Government-run Central News Agency said a bridge pier may have collapsed.

Video footage on Twitter showed a large lorry almost getting across the bridge and then falling backward as the bridge collapsed into the water. The lorry then burst into flames, sending black smoke into the air.