A landslide toppled a shed on Sunday afternoon in Jian'ou, east
China's Fujian
Province, killing two women and a seven-year-old boy.
Rescuers said five people were in the shed, taking shelter from the
rain just before the landslide hit. Two managed to escape from the
shed in time.
The victims included two locals and one passenger of a minibus,
which was forced to pull up alongside the road due to an
obstruction caused by an earlier landslide brought on by continuous
torrential rains.
In another development, three people were killed on Sunday in a
heavy flood in Hechi City in south China's Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region, local flood-control and anti-drought
headquarters said on Monday.
According to the headquarters, a father and son were engulfed by
floodwaters while crossing a river. A 17-year-old girl was killed
when the flood destroyed the house that she was in.
Downpours have pelted Hechi since Saturday, significantly raising
the water level of the Longjiang River and triggering floods in
some localities. The water level of a section of the river reached
188.35 meters on Sunday morning, 1.75 meters higher than warning
levels, according to the local hydrographic station.
The floods have begun to recede and rescue work is underway.
(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2005)