Floods in Sichuan kill 3; many rescued

Three people were found dead and five others were missing in the aftermath of a rain-induced flooding in Pingwu county, Sichuan province, according to the local authorities on Wednesday.

One hundred and nine people stranded by floodwaters had been evacuated as of 8 am on Wednesday, said Xiang Bin, deputy secretary of the Pingwu County Committee of the Communist Party of China, at a news conference on Wednesday morning.

At around 5 am on Monday, rivers in the county's Muzuo township overflowed, and flooding interrupted transportation, communications and electrical supplies, while damaging some roads and washing away houses.

The Sichuan provincial government began emergency rescue operations and sent 178 rescue workers, 14 heavy excavators and loaders, six slag trucks and four ambulances to Pingwu.

A resettlement site has been set up at Pingwu County Vocational High School, and 42 volunteers are on site to serve displaced people, Xiang said.