- 'Evacuate now, now, now': Florida braces for next hurricane
- Sparks fly as Orban berates EU 'elites' in parliament trip
- US finalizes rule to remove lead pipes within a decade
- Solanke hungry for second England cap after seven-year wait
- Gilded canopy restored at Vatican basilica
- Zverev scrapes through, Djokovic cruises to Shanghai Masters last 16
- Trump secretly sent Covid tests to Putin: Bob Woodward book
- Gauff answers critics: 'It's hard to win all the time'
- Neural networks, machine learning? Nobel-winning AI science explained
- China says raised 'serious concerns' with US over trade curbs
- Boeing delivers 27 MAX jets in September despite strike
- Italy seek Nations League consistency as Germany continue rebuild
- From boom to budgeting as reality bites for Saudi football
- US trade gap narrowest in five months as imports slip
- Stay and 'you are going to die': Florida braces for next hurricane
- England 96-1 after Salman's century lifts Pakistan to 556
- Hollywood star Idris Elba champions African cinema in Ghana
- Djokovic rolls Cobolli to make Shanghai Masters last 16
- Milan's Hernandez receives two-game suspension after referee rant
- Geoffrey Hinton, soft-spoken godfather of AI
- Ex-Barcelona and Spain great Iniesta retires aged 40
- Ex-skipper Skelton eyes Wallabies November return
- Spanish great Iniesta leaves indelible legacy after retirement
- Indian Kashmir elects first regional government in a decade
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
- September second-warmest on record: EU climate monitor
- Pastor wanted by US for sex trafficking to run for Philippine senate
- Mozambican writer Mia Couto dreams future leaders set an 'example'
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case cleared in separate sex crimes trial
- Israel expands offensive against Hezbollah in south Lebanon
- Bangladesh's Yunus says no elections before reforms
- England strike twice as Pakistan reach 397-6 at lunch in first Test
- Taiwan's Foxconn says building world's largest 'superchip' plant
- Kenya's deputy president faces impeachment vote
- N. Korean soldiers 'highly likely' killed in Ukraine: Seoul
- 'Appeals Centre' to referee EU social media disputes
- US Supreme Court to hear 'ghost guns' regulation case
- 'Small' oil leaks detected in Samoa after NZ navy shipwreck
- Nobel literature jury may go for non-Western writer
- At Istanbul church, blessed spring offers hope to Christians and Muslims
- From Bolivia to Indonesia, deforestation continues apace
- Myanmar to send rep to regional summit for first time in three years
- Prabowo set to lead bolder Indonesia on world stage
- Tampa zoo rushes Chompers the porcupine and others to safety as Milton nears
- New Japan PM to hold talks on ASEAN sidelines
- Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet
- Former South Korea clinic for US 'comfort women' to be demolished
- Chiefs battle past Saints to stay unbeaten
RBGPF | -0.46% | 60.52 | $ | |
RYCEF | 1.29% | 6.97 | $ | |
GSK | -1.56% | 38.035 | $ | |
NGG | 0.47% | 65.79 | $ | |
SCS | -0.27% | 12.915 | $ | |
BCC | -0.38% | 140.74 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.06% | 24.555 | $ | |
RELX | 0.93% | 46.47 | $ | |
RIO | -4.87% | 66.385 | $ | |
BCE | -0.74% | 33.285 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.04% | 24.801 | $ | |
VOD | -0.36% | 9.655 | $ | |
AZN | -0.34% | 76.61 | $ | |
JRI | 0.15% | 13.2 | $ | |
BTI | -0.14% | 35.15 | $ | |
BP | -3.48% | 32.025 | $ |
Death toll from south China road collapse rises to 36
The death toll from a highway collapse in southern China's Guangdong province has risen to 36, state media said Thursday, as rescue work continued.
Heavy rains caused a stretch of road running from Meizhou city towards Dabu county to cave in at around 2:10 am on Wednesday (1810 GMT Tuesday), according to state news agency Xinhua.
Vehicles careened into the nearly 18-metre-long (59-foot) gash in the tarmac and plummeted down the steep slope below.
Guangdong, a densely populated industrial powerhouse, has been hit by a string of disasters attributed to extreme weather events in recent weeks.
The storms have been much heavier than expected this time of year and have been linked to climate change.
The highway collapse trapped over 20 vehicles and involved 54 people, according to Xinhua.
"As of 5:30 am on (Thursday)... 36 people have died, and 30 people have been injured," Xinhua said, adding that the injuries were not life-threatening.
The death toll was up from 24 people on Wednesday afternoon.
Footage by state broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday showed excavators digging through the muddy hillside below the collapsed road.
Nearby, a crane lifted charred, wrecked vehicles onto a lorry as people watched from behind a cordon.
State media called the road collapse a "natural geological disaster" caused by the "impact of persistent heavy rain".
Around 500 people have been dispatched to help with the rescue operation, CCTV said Wednesday.
The provincial government has "mobilised elite specialised forces and gone all out to carry out... search and rescue", according to Xinhua.
An official notice on Wednesday advised that part of the S12 highway was closed in both directions, requiring detours.
- More disasters likely -
Last month, massive downpours in a different part of the province sparked floods that claimed four lives and forced the evacuation of over 100,000 people.
And a tornado killed five people when it ripped through the megacity of Guangzhou last week.
With rainfall expected to intensify throughout May, the government has warned of possible further disasters.
"Multiparty discussions and evaluations indicate that strong convection and heavy precipitation may increase in China in May," Xinhua cited the emergency management ministry as saying.
The country's lush southern and southeastern provinces -- including Guangdong -- are likely to be among the worst hit, leading to "a higher risk of geological disasters", the ministry was quoted as saying.
China is the biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change but has pledged to reduce emissions to net zero by 2060.
Nogueira--PC