Shaanxi, China: Partial collapse of highway bridge - at least 15 fatalities and 30 missing

*The site of a bridge collapse in Zhashui County in Shangluo City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, 20 July 2024 (credits: efe.com)*

Almost 2 weeks ago, on Friday 19^th of July, at approximately 8:40p.m. (12:40 GMT) in Shaanxi province, a highway bridge partially collapsed resulting in the death of 15 people, while dozens are missing after heavy rainfalls and severe storms.

The incident occurred after an out of blue flash flood. They also stated that a rescue team of 1600 people promptly arrived at the site equipped with vehicles, vessels and sniffer dogs. Authorities stated that all the victims were found in five vehicles that fell off the bridge, while at least 20 more vehicles with approximately 30 people are still missing.

It should be mentioned that heavy rainfall, equivalent to a year's worth, fell during the week that the incident occurred. Many areas in south and central China suffered the extreme weather conditions while in central China 5 people lost their lives due to floods and mudslides.

Sources: aljazeera.com, efe.com