appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Stephen Chen

Chinese truck drivers “risked their lives” by leaping from their vehicles laden with rocks just before they plunged into the Yangtze River as part of desperate efforts to halt raging floodwaters that breached the riverbank on Sunday.
By Sunday evening at least eight trucks had been sent crashing into the rapidly widening gap in Huarong county, in Hunan province, to try to stop the floods further overwhelming an area of lower ground where 27,000 people live, Xinhua reported.
Thousands flee as floodwaters break through barrier in central China
The only safety measures used by the drivers as they “risked their lives” were life jackets and ropes tied around their waists, Xinhua reported.
Rising floodwaters first caused concerns at about 9.30am on Sunday, but within an hour the riverbank holding back the surging waters had collapsed, allowing the flood to pour through a 10-metre wide gap.
Typhoon Nepartak brings chaos to eastern China
At first the truck drivers sent to plug the gap were told to tip their cargo of rocks and boulders over the edge into the gap to try to limit further erosion of the riverbank.
However, the gap grew larger so quickly that the local authorities ordered the trucks and their cargo to be driven over the side.
Strong rainfalls continue in China: Shanghai on alert as flooding inundates central provinces
Huarong’s disaster relief commission said at least eight trucks had been driven off the side of the riverbank into the river to try to halt the erosion caused by the flooding.
Local authorities said most of the population in flooded area had been safely evacuated, while hundreds of others had moved to higher ground where the water could not reach them.
A military troop was on its way to assist the civilian efforts, Xinhua reported.


A Teochew hit film shows what’s ailing Chinese entertainment

China’s marriage numbers plunge to Covid-era low as population woes deepen

Has China just ended the end of history?

China fireworks factory blast sharpens focus on workplace safety

China society

Chinese truck drivers crash rock-laden vehicles into Yangtze River to try to halt floods destroying riverbank

A truck balances on the edge of the riverbank before plunging into the widening gap caused by flooding of the Yangtze River in Hunan province on Sunday. Photo: News.sohu.com

Trucks driven into Yangtze River to try to halt floods

News

China

People & Culture