Chinese Premier Li Keqiang says officials who failed in their duties will be punished after last month’s floods

Li’s visit to the provincial capital Zhengzhou saw him inspect a subway tunnel that flooded quickly, killing 14 people

Premier says investigation into disaster that killed more than 300 people must ‘give society an account’ of what happened

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited the subway accompanied by local officials. Photo: Weibo

Published: 8:30pm, 19 Aug 2021Updated: 10:43pm, 19 Aug 2021

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has said an investigation into last month’s devastating floods in the province of Henan that killed 302 people must give a proper account of what happened.

On Wednesday afternoon, Li visited a subway tunnel that flooded in Zhengzhou, trapping passengers on board trains as water levels rose rapidly and claimed 14 lives during the torrential rains on July 20.

Accompanied by local officials in the capital of Henan province, Li was shown the emergency platform for evacuation.

“The water rose so fast that the platform and the handrails were all under water then,” a local official told the premier in a video shared on the State Council’s website. “The water was almost at head height.”

“This accident had a huge impact on society … [We should] seek truth from facts and conduct a thorough investigation,” Li told local officials. He added that anyone found to have failed in their duties would be held responsible.