China: Bridge collapse kills 11 and leaves dozens missing

Taipei, Taiwan. At least 11 people have died and 30 are missing after a section of a highway bridge collapsed in northwestern China due to severe storms and flooding, officials said. Many are missing after the storms destroyed dozens of homes in the Southwest.

Five vehicles have been rescued after a bridge collapsed in Shaanxi province At 8:40 p.m. Friday, the official Xinhua news agency reported. In a picture released by the media, a section of the bridge broke and bent at an almost 90-degree angle, plunging towards the brown water that ran below.

Rescue operations continued in Jashui County on Saturday, with about 20 vehicles and 30 people still missing, he added.

In the southwestern Sichuan region, 30 people are missing and about 40 homes have been destroyed by floods and storms, Xinhua reported. Roads, bridges and communication networks in the hard-hit Hanyuan district are damaged or unusable, and rescue teams have been working since dawn to restore communication and transport links.

With economic growth in recent decades, China has built a major highway, high-speed railway, and airports that have largely aided growth.

But a sharp decline in that economic expansion, poor quality infrastructure, poor safety oversight and companies' desire to cut costs led to a series of fatal accidents.

The western and southwestern provinces of the country are particularly prone to floods and landslides due to their mountainous terrain and the mighty rivers that flow through them. Mining, tourism and growing urbanization have altered the precarious balance with the natural environment that has been maintained for thousands of years.

Shaanxi is known as one of the pillars of Chinese civilization, from which emerged its first emperor, Qinshi Huangdi, who left a legendary army of terracotta warriors on the outskirts of his traditional capital, Xi'an. A funeral complex that attracts throngs of visitors every year.