The incident occurred at 8:40 p.m. (1240 GMT) in Shangluo city on Friday when a highway bridge collapsed due to a flash flood, causing some vehicles to fall into the river.

As of 10 a.m. on Saturday, five vehicles were confirmed to have fallen into the water and 30 people were reported missing, state media said.

Xi said China is in a critical period for flood control and local governments must take responsibility to enhance monitoring and early warning.

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