4 dead, 9 injured, in China flash flood in Sichuan city of Pengzhou
- Footage from Chinese media showed river water rising rapidly on the outskirts of Sichuan province’s Pengzhou
- Tourists playing in the initially shallow water were seen running for safety and clambering over rocks but some did not get to the river bank in time
Four people died and nine were injured in a flash flood in southwest China on Saturday, local authorities said.
Footage published by Chinese media showed water rising rapidly in a river on the outskirts of Sichuan province’s Pengzhou city.
Tourists who had been playing in the initially shallow water could be seen running for safety and clambering over rocks as the water rushed towards them, but some were unable to reach the river bank in time.
At least one person, a woman stranded on a boulder in the middle of the river, appeared to lose her footing and was swept away by the current, according to a video posted online by the state-owned Beijing Youth Daily.
“As of 7.30pm, the mountain flood has killed four people, severely injured three and lightly injured six others,” Pengzhou emergency response authorities said in a statement.
The flood comes during a summer of extreme weather in China, with multiple cities including Shanghai recording their hottest days ever during a heatwave in July.
