Death toll rises to seven in Sichuan flood

Three people who were seriously injured on Saturday in a flood in Pengzhou, a city under the administration of the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu, died in hospital on early morning of Sunday, bringing the death toll to seven, according to the publicity department of the Pengzhou municipal committee of the Communist Party of China.

At about 3:30 pm on Saturday, a flash flood took place in Longcao valley, Longmenshan town, Pengzhou. Tourists unable to evacuate were caught in the flood. Four died earlier on Saturday.

Three lightly injured people have been hospitalized for observation, and they are in stable condition. On-site search and rescue operations are still ongoing, according to the local publicity department.

Longcao is prone to mudslides and flash floods. In 2015 and 2017, floods destroyed more than 100 meters of the berms, it said.