Rescue workers are searching for dozens of missing people after a flash flood in the Chinese province of Qinghai. More than 6000 people are affected by the consequences of the heavy rain, the state media report landslides. It is already clear that at least 16 people are dead.
Flash flooding after heavy rains in north-west China killed 16 people. Another 36 were still missing, as reported by state television. The accident happened the night before in the mountains of Datong County near the city of Xining in Qinghai Province. Heavy rains triggered landslides that blocked and diverted rivers, state media said. More than 6,000 people in two communities and six villages are affected.
"The rain was particularly heavy and lasted for an hour or two," an eyewitness told the Hongxing Xinwen newspaper. Her village, Hejiazhuang, is in a depression. The flash flood came from the mountains in the evening. You watched the tide from a higher point. "Houses were swept away. Some villagers didn't have time to escape," the woman was quoted as saying. "Many cattle and sheep were also swept away and drowned," Hongxin Xinwen quoted the eyewitness as saying. The flash flood was over as suddenly as it came - maybe in just an hour or two.
According to state media, the region lies on the western edge of a plateau, with soft layers of earth at high elevations that easily trigger landslides and flash floods. It is unclear whether there is still a chance of finding missing people alive. Around 2,000 rescue workers, including police officers, paramilitary units, emergency services and officials, were mobilized for the rescue work, according to state media.
Due to new rainfall and the risk of further landslides, the rescue work had to be temporarily interrupted this Thursday. Qinghai Province declared the second-highest alert level in the four-tier emergency and disaster response system. The Hui and Tu minorities live in the affected area.
