KUNMING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Six people have been confirmed dead after a crane malfunctioned while carrying a girder for a railway bridge project in southwest China's Yunnan Province, according to the railway company on Friday.

The accident occurred at around 7:30 a.m. on Sunday at the construction site of a super-large bridge, that is part of the upcoming Chongqing-Kunming High-Speed Railway, in Xundian County, Kunming, the capital of Yunnan.

Following the accident, the construction project's undertaker China Railway 16th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. and the local government immediately launched the contingency plan, and dispatched an emergency rescue team which included local fire, public security, health and railway departments. The cause of the accident is still being investigated.