Part of expressway bridge in Guizhou collapses as rain, floods batter region

A section of a bridge on the Xiamen-Chengdu Expressway in Guizhou province collapsed on Tuesday morning following a landslide brought on by prolonged heavy rainfall. No casualties have been reported.

The collapse occurred at about 7:40 am in Sandu county as a truck was crossing the bridge. The driver was rescued by emergency teams, according to local authorities.

Drone footage showed three construction vehicles underneath the fallen span. The vehicles belonged to nearby villages and were unoccupied at the time of the collapse, officials said.

Highway patrol officers first observed structural deformation on the bridge as early as 5:51 am and imposed one-way traffic control. A full closure in both directions was implemented by 7:11 am, less than 30 minutes before a portion of the bridge gave way.

An investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the collapse.

The Guizhou Meteorological Service reported that during a 24-hour period between 6 am on Monday and 6 am on Tuesday, the southern and southeastern parts of the province experienced widespread heavy rain. Five monitoring stations recorded extremely severe downpours, and 113 stations reported severe rainfall.

Meteorologists warned that rain bands are expected to continue over the coming days, with potential impacts shifting to the northern and western parts of Guizhou.

At 9 am on Tuesday, the province's flood control and drought relief headquarters issued a level four emergency response, the lowest on China's four-tier system, to address the ongoing flood threat.