At least 24 people were killed in the early hours of Wednesday morning when a section of a highway collapsed due to subsidence in south China’s Guangdong province.
About 20 vehicles fell into the huge crater that opened at the edge of the highway. So far 24 people have been confirmed dead, while 30 injured have been hospitalised, reports the News China News Agency.
As of 5:30 a.m. 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 a.m.… pic.twitter.com/G0vDwFGUDd
— Hi,GBA (@thisisGBA) May 2, 2024
In a video released, damaged vehicles can be seen in a muddy ditch. Cranes, fire trucks and ambulances rushed to the scene of the accident.
The collapsed section of the S12 motorway was 18 metres long and the crater covered an area of 184 square metres, according to officials.
Update: As of 5:30 on Thursday, the death toll has risen to 36 after part of an expressway collapsed in south 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” as a consequence of recent prolonged and heavy rainfall.
In recent weeks, the rains have caused widespread flooding and landslides in the region. In the past 24 hours, the rains have been much heavier than usual for the season before the monsoon season
