The incident occurred at 8:40 p. m. (local time) in the city of Shangluo on Friday, when a road bridge collapsed due to flash flooding, causing some cars to fall into the river. As of Saturday, five vehicles were reported to have fallen into the water and another 30 people were missing. Rescue operations are being carried out lately.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for full relief efforts after the bridge collapse, saying China is in a critical era of flooding and local governments will have to take responsibility for strengthening monitoring and early warning. China’s National Fire and Rescue Authority announced on Saturday that it had sent a rescue team of 859 people, 90 vehicles, 20 boats and 41 drones to the scene.
Since Tuesday, large areas of northern and central China have faced heavy rains, which have caused flooding and significant damage. At least five other people were killed and eight were missing after rains triggered flooding and landslides in Shaanxi’s Baoji city. In central China’s Henan Province, flooding caused by relentless rains trapped elderly people in a nursing home and villagers in their flooded homes on Thursday (July 18). CCTV showed footage of firefighters evacuating other people in lifeboats.
China is experiencing a summer of extreme weather, with heavy rains in the east and south, while much of the north has been devastated by successive heat waves. Nearly a quarter of a million people were evacuated in eastern China earlier this month due to torrential rains. parts of the country and caused the flooding of the Yangtze River and other rivers.
In an unrelated incident, a large chimney exploded in southwest China’s city of Zigong on Wednesday, killing 16 other people. Firefighters and rescuers responded to a fire call shortly after 6 p. m. on Wednesday in the construction of the 14-story advertisement and brought 75 other people to safety. The incident came days after at least thirteen students were killed when a chimney exploded in a school dormitory in central China’s Henan province.
(with agencies)
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