Seven people were killed in two accidents that occurred within 13 hours of each other on an expressway under construction in central China's Henan Province, local authorities said Tuesday.

The first accident occurred at 2 p.m. Monday, when a scaffold supporting five workers fell off of a crane operated by an unlicensed operator at a bridge construction site on the Luoyang-Luanchuan Highway.

Four people were killed at the scene, and the fifth worker died after being sent to a local hospital to receive treatment, according to the Luoyang city government.

The second accident occurred at 1 a.m. Tuesday, when two workers fell off of a bridge at a separate construction site on the same expressway, the local government said.

The two workers involved in the second accident died after being rushed to a local hospital, the local government said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2012)