Beijing: The death toll from the partial collapse of a highway bridge in China’s northwestern Shanxi province has risen to 38, and about two dozen people are still missing. Giving this information on Friday evening, state broadcaster CCTV said that two dozen vehicles fell into a fast-flowing river in the accident that took place on July 19. According to CCTV news, one person was rescued. The area in Shanxi province where the bridge collapsed on the Daning highway had received heavy rains in the past few days.

According to CCTV news, at least 25 cars fell into the river when the bridge collapsed. Rescue teams have searched several kilometers downstream in search of victims. A picture released by state news agency Xinhua shortly after the incident showed a part of the bridge broken and bent at an angle of about 90 degrees into the flowing brown water below. The river runs through a mountain valley and a similar incident in Guangdong province in May killed 36 people, CCTV reported.

Search for missing people continues
The search for missing people is still on. Rains caused by the effects of climate change have triggered a series of landslides and floods across Asia. In China this week, Typhoon Gaemi killed 48 people. The cyclone weakened into a tropical storm as it made landfall in Hunan.