At least 48 people were killed Wednesday after a month of heavy rains caused parts of a highway to collapse in southeastern China, the Associated Press reported.
Chinese authorities said the death toll could reach 51, with 30 people suffering non-life-threatening injuries and three others found but not yet identified. report.
Breaking news: Death toll jumps to at least 48 after highway collapse in southern China; search continues https://t.co/4wgTppBjOu
— Associated Press (@AP) May 2, 2024
The collapse occurred during the May Day five-day period, when many Chinese people travel, according to the Associated Press. This holiday honors the achievements of Chinese language academy workers around the world. I got it.. (Related article: Chinese Communist Party-affiliated battery manufacturer goes bankrupt due to lobbying activities under parliamentary scrutiny)
The newspaper reported that 23 vehicles were engulfed by the collapse and fell down a steep slope. The impact caused some cars to burst into flames, the paper said.
“The difficulty of rescue operations is increasing as some of the vehicles involved were set on fire,” Wen Yongdeng, Communist Party secretary of the Meizhou emergency management bureau, said, according to the Associated Press. “During the collapse, most of the vehicles were buried in the soil and a large amount of soil covered them.”
Local officials also noted that the impact of heavy rains on the soil will only increase the difficulty of the ongoing search and rescue process, AP noted. The region recorded about 22 inches of rain over four weeks, according to the Associated Press.
