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BEIJING, China, May 3 — President Xi Jinping has urged all-out efforts in rescue operations and disaster relief work following an expressway collapse in Guangdong province on Wednesday, which has killed at least 48 people and injured another 30.
In an instruction on the fatal disaster, Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, demanded that every effort be carried out for on-site rescue, treatment of the injured, and properly handling the aftermath.
At about 2:10 am on Wednesday, a landslide occurred at the Chayang section of the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway in Meizhou, Guangdong province.
Local authorities confirmed that the collapsed section is almost 18 meters in length and has an area of around 184 square meters. Twenty-three cars were found to have been trapped by the collapse.
The death toll rose to 48 as of 2 pm on Thursday. The DNA of another three people has yet to be identified, while 30 injured people are receiving hospital treatment and none of them are in life-threatening condition, according to the authorities in Meizhou.
Xi said that efforts should be made to repair the damaged roads and restore traffic order as soon as possible.
He urged all regions and relevant departments to bear in mind the worst-case scenario, strengthen monitoring and early warning, improve emergency plans, and promptly investigate and deal with potential risks in key areas, to ensure the safety of people’s lives and property and overall social stability.
Premier Li Qiang has also given instructions to spare no effort in rescuing the injured, carrying out follow-up work, doing everything possible to search for and rescue trapped persons, and strictly guarding against secondary risks.
Li emphasized that the ongoing May Day holiday is a peak tourism season, and noted that there is widespread rainfall in some areas. He called for all-out efforts to prevent accidents and disasters.
Acting on the instructions, Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing led relevant officials to the scene to guide the rescue and disaster relief work.
Rescue efforts are continuing, despite facing challenges due to the continuous rainfall, local authorities said at a news briefing on Thursday afternoon.
Wang Hui, mayor of Meizhou, said at the briefing that 577 rescuers from the police, emergency services and other departments were deployed to the scene, and the rescue efforts are ongoing.
Rescue operations face significant challenges due to heavy rainfall and landslides, Wen Dengyong, head of the local emergency management bureau, said at the briefing.
One of the main difficulties is the large number of vehicles involved in the disaster, some of which were covered by soil or burned out, making it difficult to locate them immediately, Wen said, adding that the heavy rainfall has complicated rescue operations.
The rescuers have been divided into 10 small groups to address these challenges, utilizing search dogs and detection equipment to conduct a thorough search, Wen said.
Before the rescue personnel arrived, several drivers who were passing by immediately got out of their cars to help those in need following the collapse. Liu Yongjin, who was driving back to his hometown in Fujian province from Shenzhen in Guangdong, was one of them, Southern Plus reported.
When he spotted people climbing out of their cars, he rushed to their aid, carrying children and helping adults to safety. “In total, I managed to rescue six people, three adults and three children, the youngest being just 3 years old,” Liu said.
Since April, Meizhou has experienced multiple rounds of heavy precipitation, with the city’s average accumulated rainfall reaching 621.7 millimeters, which is 2.49 times higher than the normal level for the same period. This has surpassed the historical record for April rainfall since meteorological records began in 1980, which was 437.3 millimeters, according to the data released at the news briefing.
The Guangdong Meteorological Service forecast that the province would continue to experience rain on Thursday and Friday.
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