The death toll from A Highway collapse in Guangdong Province, China State media said on Thursday that the number of people who drowned in the floods had risen to 48 as rescue efforts continued.
Thirty people were injured in the accident.
A portion of the Micho-Dabo Expressway collapsed on Wednesday at 2:10 a.m. local time, due to heavy rain.
The 17.9-meter (58.7-foot) collapsed stretch of road caused 23 vehicles to fall onto the steep slope below, according to the Meizhu city government.
“As of 5:30 a.m. (Thursday)… 36 people had died and 30 others were injured,” the Xinhua News Agency said, adding that the injuries were not life-threatening.
Rain hinders rescue
President Xi Jinping called on officials to “exert their utmost efforts in rescue work and treat the injured at the site, and arrange for the management of risks and hidden dangers in a timely manner,” state broadcaster CCTV reported on Thursday.
A fire department official told Chinese media that the search operation was complicated by continuous rain and gravel and soil falling at the accident site, endangering rescue workers.
Surveillance camera footage showed excavators digging through the muddy hills below the collapsed road while a crane lifted the burned and smashed cars onto a truck.
CCTV reported that about 500 people were deployed to support rescue efforts.
Xinhua reported that the regional government “mobilized specialized elite forces and made every effort to carry out search and rescue operations.”
The southern province of Guangdong has witnessed a series of disasters due to severe weather conditions in recent weeks.
dvv/sms (AFP, AP, Reuters)
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