At least 24 people were killed early Wednesday when a section of highway collapsed due to a landslide in southern China's Guangdong province.
About 20 vehicles fell into the huge crater that opened on the side of the highway. So far, 24 people have been confirmed dead, while 30 injured have been taken to hospitals, Xinhua news agency reports.
In a video that saw the light of day, damaged vehicles can be seen in a muddy ditch. Cranes, fire engines and ambulances rushed to the scene of the accident.
As of 5:30 am on May 2, the death toll rose to 36 after part of a road collapsed in #Guangdong's #Meizhou, leading to 23 cars trapped and another 30 people injured, with none in life-threatening condition, according to local authorities.
The collapse happened around 2:10 am... pic.twitter.com/G0vDwFGUDd
— Hi,GBA (@thisisGBA) May 2, 2024
The section of the S12 highway that collapsed was 18 meters long and the crater covered an area of 184 square meters, officials said.
Update: As of 5:30 on Thursday, the death toll has risen to 36 after part of an expressway collapsed in southern China's Guangdong Province on early Wednesday morning, causing 23 vehicles to plunge.
Another 30 people are receiving hospital treatment https://t.co/hM6YBBdfrv pic.twitter.com/u53yJcXB6t- China Xinhua News (@XHNews) May 2, 2024
Chinese television reports described the collapse as a "geological disaster", a consequence of recent prolonged and heavy rainfall.
In recent weeks, rainfall has caused widespread flooding and landslides in the wider region. In the previous 24 hours, the rains were much heavier than usual for the season, before the monsoon season.
In addition, in the city of Guangzhou (Canton), five people died on Saturday due to a tornado that hit the capital of Guangdong province.
Source: protothema.gr