SOIL erosion was blamed for the collapse of a road beside the Maozhou River, bordering Shenzhen and Dongguan, on Tuesday, the land resources authority said.
The collapsed section is about 60 meters long and 30 meters wide. The road collapse sent tons of earth into the river.
No casualties were reported, but the collapse had caused a nearby electricity tower to lean, which could result in the loss of 1 million yuan (US$151,515).
A witness, Wang Yongbing, and three other road maintenance workers thought he would never see their families again when the collapse occurred.
We were working on some cracks that we had found recently, but at around 10:20 p.m., when we were resting in the van, we felt the ground tremble and move, said Wang.
He jumped out of the van and called the three others to leave. The collapse brought down four lamp posts and broke the cables supported by the electricity supply tower. The Shenzhen power supply company said some towers had been damaged.
(Han Ximin)
