BEIJING (AFP) - Rescue workers were searching for at least five people after a suspension bridge collapsed in central China late on Wednesday, state media reported.

Around 40 people were on the bridge at the time it "overturned" in Hunan Province's Fenghuang county at 9:20pm.

Twenty of them including children and elderly people fell into the river below, according to the Xinhua news agency.

Fifteen people managed to get to the banks of the river, the county's deputy head Cai Long said, adding that search and rescue work was under way for survivors.

Authorities in the region have instructed hotels in Fenghuang to check that their guests had returned for the night.

Earlier report by Phoenix TV said a few hundred people were on the bridge when it collapsed.