China orders infrastructure checks after another deadly highway collapse

Ministry of Emergency Management says lessons must be learned after 15 die in Shaanxi bridge failure

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Rescuers work at the site of a bridge collapse in Zhashui county in Shangluo on Saturday after torrential rain in Shaanxi province. Some 15 people died in the disaster. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 4:40pm, 22 Jul 2024Updated: 7:41pm, 22 Jul 2024

Authorities around China have been told to step up safety checks of key infrastructure after more than a dozen people died in a highway bridge collapse brought on by heavy rain – the second incident of its kind in three months.

By Sunday evening, the death toll from the bridge failure on the Danning highway in Shangluo, Shaanxi province, on Friday had risen to 15, with rescuers still searching for some of the 25 vehicles that plunged into the river, according to state news agency Xinhua.

State media said the bridge collapsed because of a flash flood induced by a persistent storm.

The incident occurred three months after 51 people died in a similar highway collapse in Meizhou, a city in southern Guangdong province.

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Bridge collapse in northwest China kills at least 12 amid heavy rain

At least 10 people were also reported dead and 29 people missing in a flash flood in Hanyuan county, Sichuan province on Saturday, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

China’s peak rainy season runs from mid-July to mid-August and this year conditions have been severe, with frequent flood alerts and warning upgrades in many regions.