TIMELINE: Major bridge collapses in recent years

(Reuters) - At least four people died in the rush-hour collapse of a major U.S. interstate bridge over the Mississippi River in the state of Minnesota on Wednesday.

Sections of the 40-year-old Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis broke loose and plunged into the river, onto its banks and onto another roadway. Crews had been working on the bridge to repair the surface, signs and guard rails.

Here is a short timeline of road bridge collapses around the world in recent years:

October 17, 1989 - UNITED STATES - Part of the Cypress Freeway, a supposedly earthquake-proof highway, gives way during the 7.1-magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake in San Francisco, killing almost two-thirds of the 67 victims of the disaster.

October 21, 1994 - SOUTH KOREA - Thirty-one people are killed when a central section of the Songsu bridge in Seoul sheared off during the morning rush hour and plunged into the Han river.

Oct 2, 1994 - CHINA - Thirty-three people are killed at an amusement park in Congua, Guangdong province, after the railing on a suspension bridge gave way, plunging them all into a lake.

January 17, 1995 - JAPAN - A 600-yard (meter) section of an elevated, four-lane highway in Kobe flips sideways during the Kobe earthquake, throwing cars to the ground and killing 18 people.

October 8, 1995 - ALGERIA - About 50 people are killed when a bridge collapsed under heavy rain near the oasis town of Aflou in Laghouat province.

January 4, 1999 - CHINA - At least 40 people, including a squad of 23 police officers, are killed when the Rainbow Bridge in Qijiang county collapsed beneath them.

March 4, 2001 - PORTUGAL - As many as 59 people are killed after the Hintze-Ribeiro bridge in northern Portugal collapsed, throwing a bus into the waters.

May 27, 2002 - UNITED STATES - Fourteen people are killed when part of a bridge collapsed after being struck by a barge, with vehicles plunging into the Arkansas river in Oklahoma.

August 28, 2003 - INDIA - At least 25 people, including 23 children, die when a bridge in the western coastal area of Daman collapsed into a muddy river, throwing a school bus and several other vehicles into the swirling waters.

December 2, 2006 - INDIA - Thirty-three people are killed when a 150-year-old bridge, being dismantled, crashed on the train near the Bhagalpur railway station in the state of Bihar.

March 20, 2007 - GUINEA - Sixty-five people are killed after a bridge collapsed under the weight of a truck packed with passengers and merchandise near the remote town of Gueckedou.