Heavy snow across China claims 15 lives

Source: CCTV.com | 01-22-2008 13:09

Heavy snow has caused widespread traffic disruptions in many areas of China and left at least 15 people dead in weather-related accidents.

The Emergency Management Office of the State Council issued a circular on Monday calling for the relevant government departments to be alert.

In the eastern province of Anhui, the record snowfall has dealt a heavy blow.

The province's affected 2.84 million people are experiencing their harshest winter in a decade, and have been forced to replace transportation vehicles with horses.

Workers are racing around the clock in freezing temperatures to reconnect downed power lines. The cables carry electricity from China's biggest hydro-electric power plant, Three Gorges Project, to Shanghai on the east coast.

And Hubei province in Central China experienced its biggest snowfall in 16 years. Five people died when their buildings collapsed and nine people were killed in snow-related traffic accidents in the province. Half of the province's highways, totaling more than one thousand kilometers, have been closed since Saturday. The local economic losses are estimated at 1.43 billion yuan or almost 200 million US dollars.

But there is good news in southwestern Tibet as rescuers continue to find people stranded on the snow-covered highways. The number of people rescued had risen to 131 as of Monday afternoon. However, the local government fears that there may be still others trapped by the snowstorm that began sweeping through the area four days ago.

Editor:Zhang Ning