At least 19 people died when part of a highway collapsed in southern China’s Guangdong province on Wednesday, state media reported.
State broadcaster CCTV said a stretch of road between Meizhou city and Dabu county in Guangdong province caved in at around 2:10 am (1810 GMT Tuesday).
The incident caused 18 vehicles to become trapped and involved a total of 49 people, CCTV said.
As of 11:45 am, “19 people have been confirmed dead, and 30 are receiving all-out emergency care in hospital”, according to the broadcaster.
It added that the lives of those hospitalised were “not currently at risk” but did not specify their injuries.
Footage shared on social media showed a smoking pile of wrecked vehicles lying at the bottom of a deep muddy pit where the highway once ran.
Red fire engines and people in high-visibility vests congregated around a cordon erected a few metres from where the road had given way.
Other clips apparently filmed before dawn showed flames emanating from the pit.
“You can’t go any further,” a man is heard saying in one video, adding parts of the road had given way.