Five bodies have been found while 13 were still missing by 11 am Saturday, two days after a disastrous flood took place in central China's Hubei Province.

 

The sudden flooding broke the cofferdam of the Dalongtan Reservoir in Enshi City at 5:49 pm Thursday, sweeping away four construction workers and a mini-bus carrying 12 children, a teacher and a driver.

 

The local government mobilized more than 500 policemen, together with over 5,000 officials and citizens for the rescue operation.

 

The bodies retrieved include those of four children, and rescuers said they believed the mini-bus was dismembered as they had found two wheels.

 

Rescue work and search for the missing are still underway.

 

The reservoir was still under construction when rainstorms on Wednesday and Thursday in the upper reaches of the Qingjiang River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, brought torrents down.

 

The dam site recorded a flash rainfall of 28 mm within an hour Thursday morning.

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 29, 2004)