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One person has been injured after a road bridge collapsed in Aulla, northern Italy, but it could have been so much worse, Euronews reports. 

Reports say there were two vans in transit when the bridge broken into several sections and fell onto the banks of the river Magra.

One man was taken to hospital via helicopter with minor injuries, while a second individual escaped unharmed from his vehicle.

Both vans remained on the fallen road.

"The bridge collapsed on itself," said the Mayor of Aulla, Roberto Valentini, who carried out an inspection on site.

Residents in the nearby town of Caprigliola said they heard a "roar" and sounds "like falling rocks" at around 10.30 on Wednesday morning.

The collapse is also believed to have damaged a gas pipeline, and residents had reported a leak. A company spokesperson for Italgas said their emergency services had acted promptly to block the spillage.

"In normal times it's a very busy bridge, but with the coronavirus lockdown this morning when the failure occurred, only the two vans were involved," said an executive for local traffic police.

The structure at Albiano Magra is approximately 400 metres long and 7-8 metres high, and is located right on the border of Liguria and Tuscany, in the province of Massa Carrara.

The bridge had last been inspected on 3 November, after a crack was noticed on the surface asphalt following heavy rain.

But Anas, who own the structure, had declared that there were no "dangerous conditions".