Thirty-eight people, including?36 pupils, were
confirmed dead and?seven others?were missing after a
mountain torrent hit a primary school around 2 PM Friday in Shalan
Town in Ning'an City of?northeast China's Heilongjiang
Province.
The other two dead were local villagers and rescuers were
searching for the?seven missing, including?five students,
according to local rescue headquarters.
Another 13 pupils were under an emergency treatment, said the
headquarters.
Altogether 352 pupils, aged from 6 to 14, and 31 teachers were
at the Chang'an (or Long Safety) Primary School when the
rain-triggered mountain torrents suddenly rushed into the town of
Shalan, which lies in a basin, according to the local
government.
Major provincial government leaders, including Song
Fatang, secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Communist
Party of China, have arrived at the site to direct the rescue
operation.
Xinhua reporters were at the site, which is about 450 kilometers
away from Harbin, the provincial capital.
It is reported that 64 people were killed in the mountain
torrent in Heilongjiang Province.
((Xinhua News Agency June 11, 2005)
