At least 19 people were killed in China’s southern Guangdong province on Wednesday after a section of a highway collapsed after the region witnessed several days of extreme weather, including torrential rain and flooding.
At around 2 a.m. local time on Wednesday, eighteen cars fell down a slope after a 58.7-foot (17.9-meter) section of a highway collapsed, the Associated Press reported, citing a statement from local authorities in Guangdong’s Meizhou city.
Photos and videos on social media showed flames and plumes of smoke rising from the collapsed section of the highway, along with charred vehicles partly buried under mud and rubble.
State-run broadcaster CCTV said 30 people were rescued from the site and they “are receiving all-out emergency care in hospital.”
Authorities have also dispatched over 500 people to help with the rescue operation, state media said, without specifying if any other people remained trapped.
This is a developing story.