19 dead after highway collapse in China

 At least 19 people have been confirmed dead after a section of a highway collapsed in southern China’s Guangdong province early Wednesday.

 

Xinhua, state media, reported that the accident caused 18 vehicles to fall off and involved 49 people.

 

About 30 people are receiving treatment in the hospital and there are no life-threatening injuries at the moment, the report added.

 

Although the cause of the collapse was not divulged, the road surface, which is about 17.9 metres long and covers some 184.3 square metres, was said to have given way after Guangdong experienced extreme weather events in recent weeks, from heavy rain to flooding and a deadly tornado.

 

Witnesses told local media that they heard a loud noise and saw a hole open up several metres wide behind them, after driving past the section of the road before it collapsed.

 

Video and photos showed smoke and fire rising from a deep, dark pit into which the cars appeared to have fallen.

 

The provincial government set up an accident rescue of over 500 people, including public security, emergency and fire protection officers, and officials from the health, transportation, and mine sectors.