2024-05-02 08:38:00
The accident, which collapsed a 17.9-meter section of the highway, happened in Guangdong province at around 02:00 local time (20:00 CEST Tuesday), authorities in the city of Meizhou said earlier. After part of the road collapsed, 23 vehicles fell down a steep slope. None of the 30 injured are in danger, the Chinese government said.
The search and rescue work, in which around 500 people were deployed, was also complicated by the downpour and the risk of loosening more soil. Rescue teams are searching the place, dog handlers are on site. Chinese CCTV footage showed a crane loading charred and wrecked pieces of vehicles onto a truck.
A section of the highway between China: 36 Dead, 30 Injured in Natural Disaster”>Meizhou City and Tapu County appears to have collapsed when the ground beneath it gave way. Witnesses told local media that they heard a loud noise and when they looked back, they saw a huge pit behind them.
China’s state-run CCTV said the collapse was, according to AFP “natural disaster”which occurred “under the influence of persistent heavy rain“.
The province of Guangdong, which lies on the southeast coast of China, has been hit by record-breaking downpours and floods in the past two weeks. Last week, the 18 million-strong metropolis of Canton was hit by a tornado, which left five dead and over three dozen injured.
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