LAST UPDATE | 20 Jul

TWELVE PEOPLE HAVE died in northwest China after a bridge collapsed due to torrential rain, local media reports.

Search and rescue operations have begun after 30 people are estimated to be missing. The incident occurred at 12.40am Irish time (8.40pm local time) due to flash floods in the region.

State broadcaster CCTV said nearly 20 vehicles and more than 30 people remained missing after the highway bridge in the Shaanxi province’s Shangluo collapsed into the river below 

All 11 confirmed victims were found inside five vehicles that had so far been recovered from the water, the broadcaster said.

Images on state TV showed a partially submerged section of the bridge with the river rushing over it.

One witness told local media that he had approached the bridge but that other drivers started “yelling at me to brake and stop the car”.

Contains reporting from © AFP 2024