19 people are killed in a highway collapse in southern China.

China's national media, CCTV, reports that a roadway collapsed in the Guangdong province on Wednesday, killing 19 people.

Around 2:10 a.m. on Wednesday, a portion of the expressway that connected Meizhou City and Dapu City in Guangdong Province collapsed, trapping 18 cars, according to CCTV.  Videos posted on social media that went viral and were taken in the dark revealed emergency personnel responding to the site of a roaring fire beneath the planned route. 

 Pictures shot just after dawn revealed a car pile at the base of a gully.  Thirty individuals were receiving medical attention in hospitals as of 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday; CCTV stated that these patients were "without immediate risk" without going any detail about their injuries.

A rescue force of about 500 people had been sent by the Guangdong provincial government, the state media reported.

The local police department provided an update, saying that rescue efforts were still ongoing.  In recent weeks, there has been an abundance of rain in southern China.  More than 110,000 people have been forced to flee due to widespread flooding in Guangdong province, a 127 million strong economic powerhouse, according to official media, which cited the local authorities.

According to Xinhua, the official news agency, at least four individuals in Guangdong have died as a result of the floods, one of them was a rescue worker. It said that ten or more people are still unaccounted for.