Death toll jumps to at least 48 as the search continues in southern China highway collapse
China Highway Collapse
BEIJING (AP) — The death toll climbed to 48 on Thursday as search efforts continued in southeastern China after a highway section collapsed in a mountainous area, sending more than 20 cars down a steep slope.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a firefighter sprays water on the remains of a car in the aftermath of the collapse of a highway section on the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway in Meizhou, south China’s Guangdong Province on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. The death toll has climbed as search efforts continue in southern China after a highway section collapsed in a mountainous area, sending more a dozen cars down a steep slope. (Xinhua via AP)
Officials in the city of Meizhou said three other people were unidentified, pending DNA testing. It wasn’t immediately clear if they had died, which would bring the death toll to 51. Another 30 people had non-life-threatening injuries.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescuers work at the site of a highway section that collapsed on the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway in Meizhou, south China’s Guangdong Province on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. The death toll has climbed as search efforts continue in southern China after a highway section collapsed in a mountainous area, sending more a dozen cars down a steep slope. (Wang Ruiping/Xinhua via AP)
The collapse happened about 2 a.m. on Wednesday after a month of heavy rains in a mountainous part of Guangdong province. Vehicles fell down the slope and sent up flames as they caught fire.
The search was still ongoing, Meizhou city Mayor Wang Hui said at a late-afternoon news conference. No foreigners have been found among the victims, he said.
Search work has been hampered by rain and land and gravel sliding down the slope. The disaster left a curving earth-colored gash in the otherwise verdant forest landscape.
“Because some of the vehicles involved caught fire, the difficulty of the rescue operation has increased,” said Wen Yongdeng, the Communist Party secretary for the Meizhou emergency management bureau.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, an aerial photo shows rescuers working at the site of a collapsed road section of the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway in Meizhou, south China’s Guangdong Province, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. A section of a highway collapsed early Wednesday in southern China, sending cars tumbling and leaving more than a dozen of people dead, according to state media. (Xinhua News Agency via AP)
“Most of the vehicles were buried in soil during the collapse process, with a large volume of soil covering them,” he said.
He added that the prolonged heavy rainfall has saturated soil in the area, “making it prone to secondary disasters during the rescue process.”
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, an aerial photo shows rescuers work at the site of a collapsed road section of the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway in Meizhou, south China’s Guangdong Province, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. A section of a highway collapsed early Wednesday in southern China leaving more than a dozen of people dead, local officials said, after the area had experienced heavy rain in recent days. (Xinhua News Agency via AP)