China school flood toll now at 91
BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- Rescuers digging through mud and debris have found a further 27 bodies, many of them children, after a flash flood swept through a packed Chinese primary school, state media said on Sunday.
At least 91 people are now known to have died in Friday's disaster in which a wall of water and debris smashed into the school near Ning'an, in northeast Heilongjiang province. Hundreds of children and more than 30 teachers were inside at the time.
Of the dead, 87 were primary school students and four were adult villagers, Xinhua news agency said, adding that more than two dozen people were still in hospital.
The flooding, triggered by torrential rain, caused damage in seven villages near Ning'an city, knocking down 55 houses, the agency said.
Heilongjiang Governor Zhang Zuoji had traveled to the site, about 450 km (275 miles) from the provincial capital of Harbin, to help coordinate a rescue and relief force of 1,400 people, it said.
Xinhua did not say if the death toll was expected to rise further, and a local official reached by telephone said news from the area was still hard to obtain because of poor communications.
Chinese newspapers carried photographs showing the school half-buried by mud and water. Television footage portrayed brick buildings in the area with walls washed away and fields ravaged by floods.
The floodwaters had reached a depth of two meters (6 feet) as they swept through the school. More than 350 children and 31 teachers were inside at the time.
China suffers widespread flooding and drought every year, causing huge loss of life.
Earlier this week, days of heavy rains and floods in southern China killed more than 200 and destroyed nearly 138,000 homes.
State media have said that more flooding is likely with heavy rains predicted for northern and southern China in coming days and several rivers swollen to dangerous levels.
At least 91 people have now been confirmed dead in Friday's disaster, in which a wall of water and debris smashed into the school near Ning'an, in the northern Heilongjiang province. Hundreds of children and more than 30 teachers of the school, were inside at the time.

Of the dead, reports from the Xinhua news agency say that 87 were students and four were adults. The reports also indicate that two dozen people are still in a criticial condition in hospital.

The flooding itself, triggered by heavy rain caused damage in several cities near Ning'an city, knocking down up to 55 houses.