Four found dead after flooding washes away trucks in northwestern China
June 22nd, 2011 - 8:12 am ICT by BNO NewsXINJIANG UYGUR, CHINA (BNO NEWS) — Rescue workers have recovered the bodies of four people who went missing on Sunday when flooding washed away their trucks in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.
A search operation consisting of over 100 rescuers on Monday located the four victims who were swept away in their trucks after flash floods affected parts of a desert-oasis basin normally known for its hot and dry weather. It happened at around 5 p.m. local time on Sunday.
Rescue efforts lasted over 25 hours after torrential rains severely affected the county of Toksun in Turpan Prefecture. The extreme weather also destroyed parts of the popular tourist attraction Raisin Valley. At one point, about 50 tourists were trapped in the area but rescuers were able to assist them.
Flooding and rainstorms in parts of China have killed more than 130 people in recent weeks, while hundreds of thousands more have been forced to evacuate. Nearly 2,000 people have also been injured as a result of the severe weather.
In east China’s Zhejiang Province, rain-triggered floods hit ten of the province’s cities, affecting about 4.41 million residents over the weekend. This was the worst flooding in the region since 1955, collapsing 8,400 houses and killing two people.
In addition, a total of 241,600 hectares of farmland was destroyed and 1,846 factories suspended operations in the province, one of China’s leading manufacturing centers, causing 7.69 billion Yuan ($1.18 billion) in economic losses.
- 18 dead in China landslide - Jul 06, 2011
- 17 dead in China floods - Jul 23, 2011
- Sandstorm in China hits over six mn people - Apr 26, 2010
- Floods wreak havoc in China (Lead) - May 03, 2012
- 30,000 trapped after rains hit China - Jul 28, 2010
- 30 dead in China storm - May 11, 2012
- At least 107 killed in China torrential rains - Jul 14, 2010
- Rainstorms, floods affect 3.8 mn in China - Aug 17, 2011
- 40 dead in China storms - May 13, 2012
- Floods kill 50 in China - Jun 11, 2011
- 14 dead in China floods - Sep 20, 2011
- 18 die as coach plunges into gorge in China - Mar 11, 2011
- Death toll reaches 38 in China landslides - Jun 03, 2010
- Death toll rises to 30 after landslides in Guangxi, south of China - Jun 03, 2010
- Terrorists not to impact ties with Pakistan: China - Mar 07, 2012
Tags: autonomous region, bno, desert oasis, dry weather, east china, economic losses, extreme weather, flash floods, northwest china, northwestern china, prefecture, rainstorms, rescue efforts, rescuers, search operation, severe weather, torrential rains, xinhua news agency, xinjiang uygur, zhejiang province