So far 48 bodies recovered

FE Team | Published: May 03, 2024 00:39:00

BEIJING, May 02(AP/AFP): 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.
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.
Heavy rains caused a stretch of road running from Meizhou city towards Dabu county to cave in at around 2:10 am on Wednesday (1810 GMT Tuesday), according to state news agency Xinhua.
Vehicles careened into the nearly 18-metre-long (59-foot) gash in the tarmac and plummeted down the steep slope below.
Guangdong, a densely populated industrial powerhouse, has been hit by a string of disasters attributed to extreme weather events in recent weeks.
The storms have been much heavier than expected this time of year and have been linked to climate change. The highway collapse trapped over 20 vehicles and involved 54 people, according to Xinhua.
"As of 5:30 am on (Thursday)... 36 people have died, and 30 people have been injured," Xinhua said, adding that the injuries were not life-threatening.
Footage by state broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday showed excavators digging through the muddy hillside below the collapsed road. Nearby, a crane lifted charred, wrecked vehicles onto a lorry as people watched from behind a cordon.
State media called the road collapse a "natural geological disaster" caused by the "impact of persistent heavy rain". Around 500 people have been dispatched to help with the rescue operation, CCTV said Wednesday.
The provincial government has "mobilised elite specialised forces and gone all out to carry out... search and rescue", according to Xinhua. An official notice on Wednesday advised that part of the S12 highway was closed in both directions, requiring detours.
Last month, massive downpours in a different part of the province sparked floods that claimed four lives and forced the evacuation of over 100,000 people. And a tornado killed five people when it ripped through the megacity of Guangzhou last week.