The Guangzhou Maritime Safety Administration said in a statement on their WeChat social media account the barge crashed into the bridge on Thursday morning in the Hongqili Waterway, in the Pearl River Delta.
Images on state-owned China Central Television (CCTV) showed an empty container barge lodged between two columns of the Lixinsha Bridge with part of the bridge's two-lane road deck missing. All road traffic on the bridge was halted.
Four vehicles and an electric motorbike fell off the bridge. Two vehicles, which included a bus, plunged into the water and three other vehicles ended up on the barge, CCTV said. The bus was carrying only its driver. It was not immediately clear if the driver survived.
Two people died from the incident, one crew member was injured and two others rescued, state media said, with three more still missing.
City authorities have sent emergency and rescue personnel, including six divers and salvage vessels, to the scene, local media reported.
Local officials told media that nearby residents have been evacuated and that the vessel owner had been detained by officials, according to the Global Times.
Work to strengthen the bridge began in 2022 because of safety concerns but has been repeatedly delayed, according to CCTV.
Guangzhou, the capital of the prosperous southern Guangdong province near the mouth of the Pearl River, is one of China's busiest maritime transportation and trading hubs.Â
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