At least two people died and around 12 others are missing after flooding and mudslides destroyed homes and caused a highway bridge to collapse in China's southwestern Sichuan province on Saturday, state media reported.

State broadcaster CCTV spoke of "local mountain torrents and landslides," that swept away part of Ridi village in Kangding, in Sichuan's western highlands.

The area sits at the foothills of the Himalayas and has a large Tibetan population.

The local government said the bridge that collapsed linked two tunnels and was located along an expressway linking Kangding and Ya'an.

Several cars plunged to ground

At least three vehicles, carrying six people, had plunged off the road, officials said.

State media video footage showed damaged cars lying in a valley near several homes. The valley was also filled with large rocks.

The local government wrote on social media that one person was rescued and five are missing.

Stretches of two highways in the area were closed to traffic, the government said in a further statement.

Death toll rises from earlier bridge collapse

This summer, China has witnessed several natural disasters, including another highway bridge collapse in the northern Shaanxi province last month.

The tragedy was triggered by flash floods, which saw the bridge give way, plunging 25 vehicles into a river.

On Friday, state media said the death toll from the Shaanxi collapse had increased from 12 to 38, with 24 people still missing.

Thirty people died in Zixing, a city in Hunan province after Typhoon Gaemi lashed the region with record rains in late July.

In May, a highway in southern China collapsed after days of rain, leaving 48 dead after their vehicles plunged into a forested slope.

Economic cost reaches 100 billion yuan

Sichuan and Hunan provinces in southern China have suffered the most damage from storms and floods over the past decade, costing the local economy more than 100 billion yuan ($14 billion, €12.82 billion) each, according to some estimates.

China is the world's largest emitter of the greenhouse gasses that scientists say drive climate change.

Scientists have warned that the country faces many risks from the increasing global temperatures, including rising sea levels and more frequent extreme weather, including heatwaves, storms, droughts and floods.

mm/rmt (AFP, Reuters)