At least 19 people died when part of a highway collapsed in southern China's Guangdong province on Wednesday, state media reported.

State broadcaster CCTV said a stretch of road between Meizhou city and Dabu county in Guangdong province caved in at around 2:10 am (1810 GMT Tuesday).

The incident caused 18 vehicles to become trapped and involved a total of 49 people, CCTV said.

As of 11:45 am, "19 people have been confirmed dead, and 30 are receiving all-out emergency care in hospital", according to the broadcaster.