Videos Show Scenes of Horror After China Highway Collapses

Footage has surfaced on social media showing the destruction wrought by a highway collapse in southern China on Wednesday that has resulted in at least 48 deaths.

At approximately 2:10 a.m. on May 1, near the Guangdong province city of Meizhou, a 60-foot-long section of the Meilong Expressway caved in, causing more than 20 cars to slide down the steep slope, state media reported.

Provincial and city authorities dispatched about 500 personnel to the scene, including emergency, transportation, and mine rescue teams.

Dozens of people were said to be inside the cars, none of which included buses or other large vehicles. Among these, at least 30 were taken to the hospital for treatment and none had life-threatening injuries, according to the reports.

The death toll, initially reported to be 19, rose to 48 by Thursday morning, according to state news agency Xinhua. Meizhou city officials said they were conducting DNA testing on three unidentified individuals, but their conditions were not disclosed.

Images and released footage showed cars lying on their side in the mud. Flames and smoke could be seen rising from the wreckage.

Footage recorded soon after the incident and posted to the social media platform Telegram showed fire engines arriving on the scene with sirens blaring. Flames could be seen rising from the hillside.

An aerial video taken several hours later captured the still-smoldering wreckage of the cars piled up on the muddy hillside, with the two lanes where the landslide occurred blocked off.

Witnesses who made it over the affected section told reporters they heard a loud noise then saw the gash in the road behind their vehicle

Chinese authorities were yet to issue a statement detailing the cause of the road collapse, but state media described it as a "natural geological disaster" triggered by torrential rainfall.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.

Wednesday was the start of China's Labor Day holiday, which lasts until May 5.

Late last month, heavy downpours hit the Pearl River basin, including Meizhou and other parts of Guangdong, which is China's most populous province with some 127 million people.

River levels swelled, resulting in flash floods that inundated homes and businesses, and left four people dead.

The government announced its highest-level rainstorm alert and evacuated 110,000 people. ""Pay attention to heavy rains and resulting disasters such as waterlogging, flash floods, landslides, mudslides, and ground caving in," warned the city authorities in Shenzhen, a metropolis bordering Hong Kong.

Severe weather continued in Guangdong on Saturday when a tornado struck a district a district of Guangdong's capital, Guangzhou. The storm killed five people and injured 33. Hail was also reported in many areas.

Update 5/2/24, 4:30 a.m. ET: This breaking news story was updated with the latest information.