CNS/AFP
Image of the highway in Guangdong, China, which collapsed on May 1 and killed 48 people.
CHINA – A toll that continues to grow. The collapse of a highway in southern China has now left 48 dead compared to 36 announced earlier, according to new figures released by state media this Thursday, May 2. This tragedy which occurred on May 1st would be linked to the heavy torrential rains which recently affected the country and which “ increase the risk of disasters.
“The collapse of the highway caused the death of 48 people”said the agency New China. Vehicles were thrown into the nearly 18-meter-long gash in the tarmac and rolled down the steep slope below in Guangdong province on Wednesday, May 1, around 2:10 a.m. local time. Footage from broadcaster CCTV showed excavators digging into the muddy hillside beneath the collapsed road. Nearby, a crane lifted charred and destroyed vehicles onto a truck, under the eyes of people held behind a security cordon.
The authorities have invited the population to carefully plan their trips during the May holidays, which last until Sunday, May 5. The provincial government quickly “mobilized specialized elite forces and went out of their way to carry out search and rescue operations”according to the words of New China. President Xi Jinping ordered authorities to “put extra effort into on-site rescue operations and treatment of the injured”reported the CCTV channel, while around 500 people were dispatched to the site to participate in the rescue.
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Collapse linked to torrential rains
The collapse would be “natural geological disaster”, produced “under the impact of persistent heavy rains”, generated by “ intensification of climate change », According to the TV channel.
Indeed, downpours have hit Guangdong province in recent weeks, causing serious flooding and landslides. Parts of the province have received up to 600 millimeters of rain in the past ten days, three times more than the amount normally expected at this time of year, the national meteorological office said on Thursday.
And these showers don’t seem to be stopping any time soon. Up to 120 millimeters of additional rain is forecast this Thursday for the southwestern regions of this province. Last month, heavy rains in Guangdong province caused flooding that claimed four lives and forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people.
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