19 people were killed in southern China after a highway collapsed

An aerial photo shows the extent of the highway damage with rescuers at work on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua News Agency/AP

Nineteen people have been killed after a highway collapsed in China’s Guangdong province on Wednesday, according to the country’s state broadcaster, CCTV.

A section of the express highway connecting Meizhou City and Dapu City in Guangdong Province collapsed at around 2:10 a.m. on Wednesday, leaving eighteen cars trapped, CCTV reported.

Widely circulated social media videos shot in darkness showed a raging fire beneath where the road would have been and emergency service workers at the scene.

Images taken after daybreak showed cars piled up at the bottom of a ravine.

As of 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday, 30 people were receiving medical care in hospitals, and they were “without immediate risk,” CCTV said without specifying their injuries.

The Guangdong provincial government had dispatched a rescue force of approximately 500 people, the state broadcaster said.

Rescue efforts were still underway, according to the update from the local police department.

Southern China has been bombarded with heavy rain in recent weeks.

Guangdong province, an economic powerhouse home to 127 million people, has seen widespread flooding, which has forced more than 110,000 people to relocate, state media reported, citing the local government.

The floods have killed at least four people in Guangdong, including a rescue worker, state news agency Xinhua reported Monday. At least 10 people remain missing, it added.

中國南方高速公路塌陷已造成19人死亡

根據中國國家電視台中央電視台報道，週三中國廣東省的一條高速公路發生塌方，已造成 19 人死亡。

據央視報道，週三凌晨2時10分左右，廣東省梅州至大埔的一段高速公路發生塌方，造成18輛汽車受困。

社群媒體上廣泛流傳的在黑暗中拍攝的影片顯示，道路下方發生了熊熊大火，現場還有緊急服務人員。

天亮後拍攝的照片顯示，汽車堆積在峽谷底部。

據央視報道，截至週三上午 11 點 45 分，有 30 人正在醫院接受治療，他們“沒有立即的危險”，但沒有具體說明他們的傷勢。

根據官方媒體報道，廣東省政府已派出約 500 人的救援部隊。

根據當地警察部門的最新消息，救援工作仍在進行中。

近幾週來，中國南方地區遭遇暴雨攻擊。

根據官方媒體引述當地政府的消息稱，擁有1.27億人口的經濟強省廣東省發生了大規模的洪澇災害，迫使超過11萬人搬遷。

根據官方通訊社新華社週一報導，洪水已導致廣東至少四人死亡，其中包括一名救援人員。 聲明補充說，至少有 10 人仍然失蹤。