A bridge carrying a passenger train which collapsed above a river after heavy rain in China is being put back together.

The construction work starts just a day after downpours led to two train compartments plunging into a river from a railway bridge in the southwest of the country.

Sections of the bridge continued to tumble into the river hours after the empty carriages were swept 200 metres downstream in Guanghan, Sichuan province on Thursday.

Workers hauled the remaining carriages from the bridge using air bags in order to begin restoration work.

Thousands of people have been killed and hundreds more are still missing after large parts of China were hit by torrential rains and mudslides this year.

No casualties have been reported from this latest incident.