Deadly summer

storms batter China

Posted 1d 19h ago

BEIJING (AP) — China struggled to cope with

widespread storms that left dozens missing and

presumed dead Thursday as rescuers cleaned up a

mudslide-stricken town, while two passenger train

cars plunged into a river after crossing a flood-

damaged bridge.

Rescue workers found four bodies in Puladi

township of southwest China's Yunnan province, a

day after a wall of mud crashed through the

mountain community, the official Xinhua News

Agency said. Rains expected over the next few days

would likely hamper efforts to find 88 people still

listed as missing.

It was just the latest landslide to strike China in a

summer that has been plagued by deadly rains and

flooding. The worst recent landslide was on Aug. 8

in Zhouqu of Gansu province, where more than

1,300 were killed and about 400 people remain

missing.

In southwestern China, authorities managed to

evacuate all passengers from two train cars that

dangled for several minutes over a muddy, rushing

river before falling into the water.

The train was traveling in Guanghan city of Sichuan

province when it began shaking and then stopped

moving, dining car supervisor Wang Baoning told

China Central Television. Floodwaters had loosened

piers on the Shitingjiang bridge, Xinhua said.

The two cars were hanging over the water in a "V"

shape, but were still connected to the adjacent

carriages, Wang said. It took more than 10 minutes

to evacuate passengers from the cars, he said.

"Less than two minutes later, one carriage fell into

the river. About 10 minutes after that, the other one

fell in too," he said. There were no fatalities.

The train cars were swept a short distance

downstream and were almost completely

submerged, trapped against the base of another

bridge, CCTV footage showed.

The train was traveling from Xi'an in northwestern

Shaanxi province to Kunming in southwestern

Yunnan province.

Floods and landslides across China in recent months that have left hundreds dead and washed a way settlements in some parts of the country. The

storms have caused tens of billions of dollars in

damage.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights

reserved.
(Original Len: 2562 Condensed Len: 2927)

Top
Eintime:CondenseHtmlFile
Created by RagsRefs.bas\
CMD:E: REFSNEW DEBUG
10-12-2010 @ 16:03:31
(Len=3189)

Google Translation