Nineteen people were confirmed dead after a road cave-in on an expressway in south China's Guangdong Province trapped 18 vehicles on early Wednesday morning, local authorities said.

Another 30 people were receiving treatment in hospital and were not in life-threatening situations, said authorities in the city of Meizhou.

The cave-in happened around 2:10 a.m. on a section of the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway in Meizhou. The cave-in area measures 184.3 square meters, according to the government of Meizhou.

More than 500 people have participated in the rescue.