Ten dead as torrential rain and mudslides hit southwest China
- Two police officers are swept to their deaths as they answer emergency call
- Rescue services say 26 people are missing
Ten people were killed and more than 20 were missing after three days of torrential rain in southwestern Sichuan province, Chinese media reported.
Eight people, including a military firefighter, died in mountainous Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture, which had the heaviest downpours, news portal Aba-news.com.cn reported on Wednesday.
Twenty-six people were missing, and six were injured, three of them seriously, the report said, citing emergency services’ figures.
In Dayi county, east of Chengdu, the Sichuan capital, two police officers in a car were swept away and killed on Tuesday as they went to answer an emergency call, the police authority’s Weibo account said. Search teams were looking for a third member of their unit.
Mudslides caused by heavy rain in Wenchuan county blocked roads and cut telephone communications on Tuesday, the police said. Water and power supplies were also out.
More than 49,000 tourists were trapped by the flooding. Police said 36,000 were taken to safety on Tuesday, and the rest were rescued the next day.