Highway collapse kills 24, injures 30

Twenty-four people died and 30 others were injured after a section of a highway collapsed in Meizhou, Guangdong province, on Wednesday morning, local authorities said.

Twenty cars were trapped in the accident, which happened at 2:10 am, but no passenger buses or vehicles carrying dangerous chemicals were involved.

Almost 18 meters of road, with an area of around 184 square meters, collapsed.

The 30 injured people were rushed to hospital and were not in critical condition.

Local authorities established a rescue headquarters comprising more than 500 people from sectors including public security, emergency response, fire and rescue, and healthcare.

The Ministry of Emergency Management has sent a working group to the site to guide rescue efforts.

The highway has been closed, and local authorities are looking into the cause of the accident.

A woman surnamed Yang told Beijing Youth Daily that a car driven by her husband's sister fell when the road collapsed. The driver is in stable condition, but three people from the car are missing and a three-year-old baby is in critical care.

The chasm that opened up when the road collapsed was about three stories high and there was no warning, she said.

A netizen surnamed Cai told the newspaper that his uncle's family, driving from the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to Fujian province, is missing and he is waiting for information from authorities.