Death toll rises to 92 in Heilongjiang flooding
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-06-12 13:08

Death toll rose to 92 in a heavy flood in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province as of 6pm on Sunday and 25 others are hospitalized, local rescue work headquarters said.

The rescue team search for victims in a primary school hit by a flash flood in Shalan town in Ning'an city, northeast China's Heilongjiang province Friday, June 10, 2005. [Xinhua]

The victims included 87 primary school students and four villagers in Shalan Town of Ning'an City, which was hit by a heavy flood and ensuing mountain torrent Friday afternoon.

Seven out of 18 villages in Ning'an City have been damaged by the floods. About 1,333 hectares of farm land were devastated, 55 houses collapsed and 1,800 villagers' life were affected in the catastrophe.

A man carries a child as other residents rush to rescue the children stranded in water in a primary school hit by a flash flood in Shalan town in Ning'an city, northeast China's Heilongjiang province Friday, June 10, 2005. [Xinhua]

The rescue team is clearing the flood-hit primary school and searching efforts have been reinforced in an expanded area along the flooding river ways.

The complicated conditions in the watercourses have hampered the rescue work, but rescuers are continuing their search for the missing, according to Zhao He, head of a team of rescue soldiers at the site.

Provincial Governor Zhang Zuoji and other high-ranking officials with the provincial government are guiding rescue work on the spot.

US$610,000 of flood relief allocated

The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters Saturday allocated 5 million yuan (610,000 US dollars) for flood relief to Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

A joint working team by Ministries of Finance, Railways, Commerce and Water Resources has been dispatched to Shalan Town in Ning'an City to guide anti-flood efforts, according to headquarters.

All localities must keep on high alert for mountain torrents caused by heavy rain, noted the headquarters, calling on local authorities to continue their search for the missing.

A rescue team of 1,400 people, including 1,000 military officers and soldiers and 400 government officials, have arrived in the flood-hit area. Seventeen medical experts from Harbin Medical School in the provincial capital have been dispatched to help disaster relief efforts, the rescue headquarters said.

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