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At least 11 people have been killed and dozens more are missing after a highway bridge collapsed in northwest China, authorities have said.

China’s President Xi Jinping urged all-out rescue efforts following the disaster in Shaanxi province, which happened around 8.40pm local time on Friday and followed heavy storms and flooding.

Xinhua News Agency said rescue operations were still under way on Saturday in Shangluo city in the province’s Zhashui county, with some 20 cars and 30 people still missing.

It said five vehicles that fell off the bridge have been recovered.

The agency released a photo showing a section of the bridge had snapped and fallen at an almost 90-degree angle into the rushing water below.

China’s national fire and rescue authority said it had dispatched a rescue team to the site consisting of 859 people, 90 vehicles, 20 boats and 41 drones.

Beijing embarked on a huge economic project of building a sprawling network of highways, high-speed railways and airports over recent decades.

But a dramatic decline in economic expansion, poor-quality infrastructure and poor safety supervision, as well as a desire to cut corners by industries looking to save money, have led to several deadly industrial accidents.

China’s western and southwestern provinces feature mountainous landscapes and powerful rivers, making them particularly prone to flooding.

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