In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, an aerial drone photo taken on May 2, 2024 shows rescuers and excavators working at the site of a highway section that collapsed on the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway in Meizhou, south China's Guangdong Province. The death toll has climbed as search efforts continue in southern China after a highway section collapsed in a mountainous area, sending more a dozen cars down a steep slope. (Wang Ruiping/Xinhua via AP)
BEIJING (AP) — The death toll climbed to 48 as search efforts continued in southern China on Thursday after a highway section collapsed in a mountainous area, sending more than 20 cars down a steep slope.
Officials in the city of Meizhou said three other people were unidentified, pending DNA testing. It wasn’t immediately clear if they had died, which would bring the death toll to 51.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a firefighter sprays water on the remains of a car in the aftermath of the collapse of a highway section on the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway in Meizhou, south China's Guangdong Province on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. The death toll has climbed as search efforts continue in southern China after a highway section collapsed in a mountainous area, sending more a dozen cars down a steep slope. (Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescuers work at the site of a highway section that collapsed on the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway in Meizhou, south China's Guangdong Province on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. The death toll has climbed as search efforts continue in southern China after a highway section collapsed in a mountainous area, sending more a dozen cars down a steep slope. (Wang Ruiping/Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, an aerial photo shows rescuers working at the site of a collapsed road section of the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway in Meizhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. A section of a highway collapsed early Wednesday in southern China, sending cars tumbling and leaving more than a dozen of people dead, according to state media. (Xinhua News Agency via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, an aerial photo shows rescuers work at the site of a collapsed road section of the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway in Meizhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. A section of a highway collapsed early Wednesday in southern China leaving more than a dozen of people dead, local officials said, after the area had experienced heavy rain in recent days. (Xinhua News Agency via AP)
