A catastrophic incident struck China's Guangdong province, claiming 24 lives and injuring 30 others when a section of the Meilong expressway collapsed early Wednesday morning. The tragic event followed days of heavy rainfall, which had battered the region and led to flash floods, tornadoes, and hailstorms.
The incident occurred at 02:10 local time (19:10 BST), when a 17.9-meter (58 feet) stretch of the highway crumbled, taking with it 20 vehicles. The scene was marked by flames and black smoke billowing from below the roadway, with a smoking pile of charred cars partially covered in mud.
Authorities have dispatched 500 emergency response personnel to the scene to assist with rescue and recovery efforts. Images broadcasted on state media depicted a massive gash in the forested mountainside below the highway, highlighting the severity of the collapse.
Initially, the death toll was reported as 19, but this was later revised to 24, with the number of injured remaining at 30. The hospitalized victims are reported to be stable and "not currently at risk."
The highway collapse is the latest in a series of natural disasters to hit Guangdong, China's most populous province. Flash floods earlier in the week killed four people and displaced 110,000 others. The floods also damaged dozens of houses, shut down schools, and led to flight cancellations and delays, causing estimated economic losses of 140.6 million yuan ($19.4 million; £15.5 million).
The wild weather continued over the weekend, when a tornado tore through a factory district in Guangzhou, Guangdong's capital, killing five people and injuring 33 others. Hailstones the size of golf balls also pummelled the city.
A video of this catastrophic landslide recorded by the local media can be seen here.
🚨#WATCH: As daytime footage shows the aftermath of a highway collapse which left dozens of casualties in southern China.
— R A W S G L 🌎 B A L (@RawsGlobal) May 1, 2024
📌#Guangdong | #China
At least 19 people were killed and 30 others were hospitalized after a section of a highway collapsed in the Guangdong province of… pic.twitter.com/r1hR0UXw65
Sources: www.bbc.com, twitter.com
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