Hobart to mark 40th bridge anniversary

Hobart residents will pause to remember the 12 people who lost their lives when the city's Tasman Bridge collapsed 40 years ago.

Two cars hang over the edge of the Tasman Bridge, Hobart, Tasmania, Jan. 6, 1975, after it had been rammed by Lake Illawarra, bulk ore carrier the previous evening. (AP Photo)

It is 40 years since a ship ran into a pylon of Hobart's Tasman Bridge, causing a span to collapse, killing 12 people.

Cars and their occupants were left dangling off the edge of the bridge after the bulk carrier the Lake Illawarra caused the disaster at about 9.30pm on January 5, 1975.

Seven people on board the boat and five motorists were killed.

City authorities will on Monday close the bridge to traffic for a short period, dim its lights and hold a minute's silence to remember the tragedy.

The bridge was reopened in October 1977.