At least nine killed in south-west China after truck falls into river in heavy rain
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A collapsed building is seen after an earthquake at Liunan district district, in Liuzhou, China's southern Guangxi region on May 18, 2026.
PHOTO: AFP
BEIJING - At least nine people died after a pickup truck carrying 15 passengers fell into a flooded river in China’s south-western region of Guangxi amid heavy rain, state broadcaster CCTV reported on May 18.
The truck, carrying passengers returning from planting sweet potatoes on May 16, fell into the river while crossing a bridge with a deck submerged by rising water levels, CCTV reported.
More downpours are expected after heavy rain drenched central and eastern China on the weekend, lashing provinces such as Jiangxi and Hunan, the weather authorities said.
In separate incidents, two magnitude 5.2 earthquakes hit Guangxi’s Liuzhou city on May 18. The quake in the early morning killed two people and forced more than 7,000 to evacuate.
The authorities said that they had allocated 15,000 items of relief supplies for Guangxi’s earthquake and flood relief.
The rain would gradually move eastwards and southwards across China over the next three days, the National Meteorological Center said.
It warned of the worsening risk of mountain torrents, flooding in small and medium-sized rivers and urban waterlogging, among other threats.
The city of Jingzhou in the central province of Hubei declared measures to suspend work and business activities as part of its emergency response to flooding.
Daily rainfall in Yichang, also in Hubei, broke a 36-year record over the weekend, the Hubei Daily said. The authorities shut tourist sites and ordered schools to suspend outdoor classes. REUTERS
