Rescuers ratchet up search effort in NW China flood

XI'AN - Rescuers are employing more methods and expanding the search area in an effort to find two remaining people washed away by a flood in northwest China's Shaanxi province.

Seven bodies have been recovered and four people rescued, according to the publicity department of Chang'an District in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi.

Thirteen people were washed away from a riverside restaurant at Xiaoyuhe Village in Chang'an District at around 5:15 p.m. Monday.

The rescue headquarters sent five teams of police and firefighters, civilian rescuers and village officials to search the river.

Construction machines were used to dredge out the mud and rescue boats are cruising the rivers, the headquarters said.

The Xi'an City Meteorological Observatory issued a yellow alert for the storm at 4:20 pm Monday, warning that torrential rain may cause landslides and floods.

The precipitation at Xiaoyuhe Village was recorded at 145.7 mm, the highest in the past 30 years, local government said.