Nineteen people were confirmed dead after part of an expressway collapsed in south China's Guangdong Province, causing 18 vehicles to plunge, on early Wednesday morning, local authorities said, reports Xinhua news agency.

Another 30 people are receiving hospital treatment.

The incident happened around 2:10am on the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway in Meizhou.

Aerial photos show one side of the expressway caved in, causing vehicles to roll down a slope.

The collapsed section is 17.9 meters long and covers an area of 184.3 square meters, officials said.

Local authorities said that the cause of the collapse could be the heavy rains that fell in Guangdong last week.