A stretch of road collapsed early Wednesday in southern China, causing cars to fall and killing at least 24 people, according to state media.
Eighteen cars fell onto a slope after a 59-foot stretch of road collapsed, according to a government official in Meizhou City, Guangdong Province. The incident happened around 2 a. m.
The death toll had risen to 24 as of Wednesday afternoon, according to China’s official Xinhua news agency.
Parts of Guangdong province have experienced record rainfall and flooding over the past two weeks, as well as hail. Some villages in Meizhou were flooded in early April and the city has experienced heavy rains in recent days.
Witnesses told local media that they heard a loud noise and saw a hole several meters wide open after passing the stretch of road just before it collapsed.
Videos and images posted on local media showed smoke and fires at the site, with the rails of the road sloping down in flames. A pile of blackened cars is also seen on the slope of the road.
The ground under the road appeared to have collapsed, as did the stretch of road that had been broken.
Rescue workers took another 30 people to the hospital, state broadcaster CCTV reported.