Thirteen (13) workers are missing following a ground collapse at a major railway construction site in Shenzhen City, south China, authorities said Thursday, December 5.

The Bao’an District emergency management bureau says the sudden collapse occurred at about 11 pm Wednesday on a section of the Shenzhen-Jiangmen Railway.

Chinese State broadcaster CCTV reports that search and rescue effthe ground beneath the section of the construction site “unexpectedly gave way”.

City officials also announced that major expressways near the site were closed Thursday morning to facilitate the rescue operation. Nearby residents have since been evacuated from their homes too.

Construction on the railway section linking Shenzhen, a technology hub, with Jiangmen, both located in Guangdong province near Hong Kong began in 2022.

Industrial accidents are fairly common in China due to weak regulations and sometimes poor safety standards.

A mining accident in southwestern Sichuan province claimed eight lives in August this year.

A gas explosion in northern China’s Hebei province killed seven people and injured dozens in March this year, while in February this year, 15 people died in a residential building fire in Nanjing.