Woman dies in flash flood at tourist attraction

A man is seeking compensation from the Mount Sanqingshan National Park in Jiangxi province after his wife died in a flash flood at the park.

The woman, surnamed Wang, was 30 years old and a teacher. She was visiting the park with her 14-year-old sister on July 21 when they were caught in the flood. Wang's sister was able to climb back up to safety, but Wang was swept away and drowned.

The incident occurred in a hazardous area of the park. There was a steep cliff on one side and a sloping hill on the other. At the bottom of the hill, there was a gully with flowing water. Three stone slabs were positioned above the water that flowed down the cliff. The rocks below the cliff were rugged and the cliff was several tens of meters high.

Wang and her sister were stepping onto the stone slabs when a sudden surge of floodwater rushed down from the hill, sweeping them off the cliff. The girl was blocked by a large rock, but Wang was washed down below the cliff.

The local authorities preliminarily determined that Wang drowned. The incident is currently under further investigation.

Wang's husband, surnamed Xu, is demanding compensation from the resort management. He argues that the resort should not have opened for business during dangerous weather, especially without safety signs or fences in a hazardous area. He attributes the tragedy to a series of safety measures that were lacking.

Xu requested compensation of 2.6 million yuan ($360,000) from the tourist resort.

The resort, on the other hand, contends that the heavy rain was unforeseen, and the light rain prior to the incident met the conditions for operation. The resort was only willing to pay around 600,000 yuan.

The case is still under investigation, and it is unclear who will be held liable. However, the incident has raised concerns about safety at tourist attractions in China.

In recent years, there have been a number of accidents at tourist attractions in China, resulting in fatalities and injuries. In some cases, the accidents have been attributed to inadequate safety measures.

The Civil Code of China states that "If the operators, managers, or organizers of public places such as hotels, shopping malls, banks, stations, airports, sports venues, entertainment venues, etc. fail to fulfill their safety protection obligations and cause damage to others, they shall bear the liability for infringement."

In a recent case heard by the Beijing Shijingshan District People's Court, a tourist sued a scenic spot and a travel agency after he was injured while getting off a sightseeing bus operated by the scenic area.

The court ruled that the scenic spot and the travel agency should each assume 35 percent of the liability for the incident, while the tourist should bear the remaining 30 percent of the responsibility for failing to confirm with or inform the driver before getting off the bus.