Three days ago, tourists in the Fenghuangxia Scenic Area in Taishan City, Guangdong, were caught by an unexpected flash flood while rafting. In the ensuing chaos, five were killed immediately while the bodies of another three were found the following morning. In addition, ten were injured and are currently being treated in local hospitals.
Of the eight who perished, five were tourists visiting from Shenzhen. Three Shenzheners are also among the injured.
A list of the fatalities from the floods
Of the other fatalities, one was from Anhui and another was a 16-year-old local boy who, according to his father, often helped out at the scenic area on the weekends.
Another person who worked at Fenghuangxia also passed away. A regular employee, his job was to ensure rafters' safety. Witnesses said that he carried out his duties till the end, rescuing one person from the torrent of water before jumping back in to save another struggling tourist. He never returned from his second rescue attempt.
One of the lucky survivors, surnamed Zeng, also came close to drowning. He had come to visit Taishan with 18 other people from Shenzhen Hecheng Firefighting Skills Training Company.
Zeng and three coworkers attempted to reach shore before the flash flood struck, but were unfortunately swept away. While Zeng managed to hold on to a passing branch, one of his coworkers was not so fortunate, she was found dead the next day.
Ms. Wu, one of the injured, reported that she had also arrived at Fenghuangxia with her coworkers. She had been concerned because of a typhoon warning for the area the previous day. On the day of the flood, she asked staff at both her travel agency and Fenghuangxia whether it was safe to proceed with rafting. Both reassured Wu that the rafting was a go, when in fact, that very morning both Taishan and Jiangmen (the city that administers Taishan) had released orange storm warnings for the region.
On-site, Wu and some coworkers balked when it began raining. A staff member impatiently commented, “Move a little faster, what are you standing there for?” and they reluctantly boarded their rafts.
At one point while she was on the water, Wu saw a body float by and immediately knew the situation was dire. Fortunately, she and another person in the raft were able to make it to shore safely.
The reason why the rafting area was kept open despite weather advisories is still under investigation, and the operator of Fenghuangxia has been taken into police custody. According to Shenzhen Travel Association Vice President Wu Bin, it was against the law for the staff to allow people to continue rafting under such conditions.
Rescue teams looking for survivors late at night.
[Photos via Jiangmen Daily, Jiangmen Government News Office]
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