12 dead as raging floods destroy highway bridge — sending cars into river

Raging floods tore down part of a highway bridge in Taiwan on Friday, killing 12 people with at least 30 others still believed to be missing, according to authorities.

A 130-foot section of the bridge in Yanping Village collapsed around 8:40 p.m. Friday, sending vehicles plunging into the Jinqian River after days of heavy rain and flooding, Xinhua News Agency reported.

By Sunday, more than 1,600 rescue workers were at the scene searching for those missing and pulling tangled wreckage from the water, with drones and boats deployed to help, the outlet said.

“Rescue personnel have said that river torrents have slowed and water levels have dropped on Sunday, allowing them to locate vehicle wrecks more easily,” Xinhua said.

“On Sunday morning, Xinhua reporters on site saw a truck being retrieved from the riverbed 500 meters downstream of the collapse site,” it said. “No driver or passenger was found along with the wreck.”

One survivor told the Taipei Times that a truck on the road in front of him simply drove into the water, while other drivers began “yelling at me to brake and stop the car.”

Images from the scene show that a massive section of the span fell into the water, leaving that portion of the highway at a nearly 90-degree angle dangling off the roadway.

The collapse comes as Taiwan has been hit with a stretch of severe weather, including torrential rains that have wrecked dozens of homes and damaging roads and bridges in Sichuan Province.

With Post wires