24 die in road collapse in southern China

• May, 1 2024 à 20:15
• JC Dorsainvil
• Environnement
• 0 Comments

At least 24 people died on Wednesday in China due to the collapse of a section of highway caused by heavy rains in recent days in the southern province of Canton, state media reported.
This densely populated region and symbol of China's manufacturing power has been devastated by strong storms that left deadly floods and landslides.
The incident, which occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, was caused by “a natural geological disaster (…) under the impact of persistent and intense rains,” said the state television network CCTV.
According to this media, an 18-meter stretch of the highway between the city of Meizhou and Dabu county sank at 2:10 a.m. (6:10 p.m. Tuesday).
The state news agency Xinhua reported that around twenty vehicles were trapped in the ditch, with a total of 54 people affected.
As of 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday (07:00 GMT), “24 people have been confirmed dead and another 30 are receiving emergency care in hospital,” Xinhua added.
Rescue work in the hole left by the collapse continues, but the lives of those hospitalized "are not currently in danger," the agency reported without specifying the nature of their injuries.
An aerial photograph published by CCTV shows destroyed vehicles at the bottom of a deep hole where the highway once ran.
In the image, dozens of emergency vehicles and tow trucks appear gathered on the still intact section of the road, which runs through a steep, wooded hillside.
In other videos apparently filmed before dawn, flames and smoke are seen emerging from the sinkhole.
“You can't go any further,” says a man in one of these recordings.
AFP could not immediately verify these videos.
Authorities sent about 500 people to the site for the rescue operation, made up of firefighters, miners and security and emergency personnel, CCTV said.
Local authorities said in a notice that part of the S12 highway was closed in both directions.
– Disasters in Canton –
The province of Canton has been impacted in recent weeks by several disasters attributed to extreme weather events.
Unusually heavy rainfall for this time of year caused deadly flooding that, in some areas, was the worst since records began in 1954.
A senior official at China's Ministry of Water Resources, Yin Zhijie, told public radio last week that “intensifying climate change” makes this type of rainfall more likely.
In addition to the torrential rains, in the provincial capital, also called Canton, a tornado killed five people last week.
Much of China's huge red road runs through rugged terrain and extreme climates.
In addition, traffic accidents are quite common due to the lack of strict safety controls.
In March, 14 people were killed and 37 injured when a bus crashed inside a tunnel in the northern region of Shanxi.
Also this year, a multiple crash in February left 16 dead in the central province of Hunan, and another accident killed 19 people in Jiangxi, in the east.