BEIJING (AP) — The death toll has risen to 38 from the partial collapse of a highway bridge in northwestern Shaanxi province two weeks ago that plunged two dozen vehicles into a rushing river, China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported Friday evening.
The report said 24 people were still missing from the July 19 disaster, after which one person was saved.
The area where the bridge on the Danning highway fell had experienced heavy rains in the preceding days.
At least 25 cars fell into the river, according to CCTV, and teams have searched kilometers (miles) downstream looking for victims. A photo released by the Xinhua news agency shortly after the incident showed a section of the bridge snapped and folded at almost a 90-degree angle into the rushing brown water below.
The river passes through a mountain valley and the waters are turbulent, the report said.
The collapse has raised questions about the safety of China’s road and bridge infrastructure, which was built rapidly in recent decades. A similar collapse in May in Guangdong province killed 36 people.
Rains intensified by climate change have caused a series of landslides and flooding across Asia. In China this week, 48 deaths were attributed to Typhoon Gaemi, which had weakened to a tropical storm when it reached the inland, southern province of Hunan.