China blasts dam to divert massive floods
Beijing: China's military has blasted a dam to release floodwaters threatening one of its most heavily populated provinces, as the death toll in widespread flooding rose to at least 25.
The dam operation was carried out late Tuesday night in the city of Luoyang, just as severe flooding overwhelmed the Henan provincial capital of Zhengzhou, trapping residents in the subway system and stranding them at schools, apartments and offices.
Another seven people were reported missing, provincial officials said at a news conference.
A video posted on Twitter by news site The Paper showed subway passengers standing in chest-high muddy brown water as torrents raged in the tunnel outside. Transport and work have been disrupted throughout the province, with rain turning streets into rapidly flowing rivers, washing away cars and rising into people's homes.
At least 10 trains carrying about 10,000 passengers were halted, including three for more than 40 hours, according to Caixin, a business news magazine.
A blackout shut down ventilators at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, forcing staff to use hand-pumped airbags to help patients breathe, according to the city's Communist Party committee. It said more than 600 patients were being transferred to other hospitals.
The precise times and locations of the deaths and disappearances weren't immediately clear, although the province said more than 100,000 people have been evacuated to safety.
Henan province has many cultural sites and is a major base for industry and agriculture. It is crisscrossed by multiple waterways, many of them linked to the Yellow River, which has a long history of bursting its banks during periods of intensive rainfall.
State media on Wednesday showed waters at waist height, with rain still coming down.
To the north of Zhengzhou, the famed Shaolin Temple, known for its Buddhist monks' mastery of martial arts, was also badly hit.
China routinely experiences floods during the summer, but the growth of cities and conversion of farmland into subdivisions has worsened the impact of such events.
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Woman 'gang-raped', thrown out of car in Faridabad; 2 held
Faridabad (PTI): A 25-year-old married woman was allegedly gang-raped in a moving van here and later thrown onto the road, sustaining serious head injuries, police said on Wednesday.
The incident occurred late Monday after the two accused offered her a lift while she was waiting for transport, according to the complaint lodged by the woman's sister.
The duo, who hail from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and are currently living in Faridabad, has been arrested, police said.
The woman, who was staying at her parents' house due to a marital discord, had gone to her friend's house in Sector 23 on Monday evening, and while returning late at night, she was offered a lift by the accused, police said.
Instead of taking her to her destination, the duo drove towards Gurugram and raped her inside the car, police said.
"The woman was driven around through the night and thrown out of the car near Raja Chowk at around 3 am, leaving her with serious injuries," a police officer said.
The woman managed to call her sister, who reached the spot and took her to a hospital.
"We have nabbed the accused and are questioning them. A test identification parade of the accused will be conducted soon," Yashpal Yadav, the spokesperson of Faridabad police, said.
