LAST UPDATE | 2 May

A SECTION OF a motorway collapsed after heavy rains in southern China, sending cars tumbling down a slope and leaving at least 48 people dead, authorities said.

The Meizhou city government said yesterday that 23 vehicles have been found in a pit after a 17.9-metre long section of the road gave way at about 2am on Wednesday. Thirty other people had injuries, none of them life-threatening, a government statement said.

“The highway collapse disaster… has led to the deaths of 48 people,” state news agency Xinhua said, following a news conference held by the city of Meizhou in Guangdong province.

Parts of Guangdong province have seen record rains and flooding in the past two weeks, as well as hail. A tornado killed five people in Guangzhou, the provincial capital, last weekend.

Some villages in Meizhou flooded in early April, and the city had seen heavy rain in recent days.

The ground beneath the motorway appeared to have caved in, along with the section of the road above it. Witnesses told local media they heard a loud noise and saw a wide hole open up behind them after driving past the section just before it collapsed.

Video and photos in local media showed smoke and fire at the scene, with highway guardrails slanting down into the flames. A pile of blackened cars could be seen on the slope leading down from the highway.