China: 11 dead, 30 injured in highway bridge collapse in Shaanxi's Shangluo City

Beijing [China], July 20: At least 11 people died after a highway bridge collapsed partially in northwest China's Shaanxi province on Saturday morning, Xinhua reported, citing local authorities.

The bridge, located in Zhashui County in Shangluo City, collapsed at around 8:40 pm on Friday due to a sudden downpour and flash floods, the provincial publicity department stated.

Today morning, by 10 am, the rescue teams recovered five vehicles that had fallen into the river, reported Xinhua.

Rescue operations are underway.

Over 30 people were also missing due to the bridge collapse, Channel News Asia (CNA) reported, citing state television.

Since Tuesday, large portions of northern and central China have been dealing with heavy rains, which have caused flooding and significant damage.

Earlier on Friday, the state media reported that at least five people died and eight were missing after the rains sparked flooding and mudslides in Shaanxi's Baoji city.

Reportedly, China is witnessing a summer of extreme weather, with heavy rains across the east and south coming as much of the north has sweltered in successive heat waves, CNA reported.

Earlier this month, nearly a quarter of a million people were evacuated in eastern China as rainstorms lashed parts of the country and caused the Yangtze and other rivers to swell, state media reported.

According to Xinhua, the storms had affected 991,000 residents in Anhui province and forced the evacuation of 242,000 people.