Chinese Passengers Saved in Dramatic Train Rescue

The two ends of a train remain on a bridge after passengers were evacuated near Guanghan in southwest China's Sichuan province, one of the areas hit hard by flooding , 19 Aug 2010

State media are reporting a dramatic rescue in southwestern China, where passengers were removed from two railway carriages shortly before they plunged off a flood-damaged bridge.

Elsewhere in the region, more than 1,000 rescuers were racing to find about 90 people believed buried when a landslide swept over their homes early Wednesday.

Almost three months of torrential rains have claimed more than 2,000 lives across China, including more than 1,200 killed when a mudslide washed over Zhouqu village in Gansu province on Aug. 8.

Reports from Guanghan city in Sichuan province say an engineer managed to stop his passenger train just before it fell off a washed-out bridge. China Central Television was quoted as saying two carriages were left dangling over the edge but the passengers were removed just before the cars fell off and were washed downstream.

The mudslide occurred in a remote part of neighboring Yunnan province, a mountainous region that borders Burma.

The China News Service said 14 bodies had been recovered from the site in Puladi township, where the avalanche of rocks and earth has cut off roads, power and telecommunications.

Landslides have killed another 15 people in the town of Wenchuan in southern Sichuan. Wenchuan was the epicenter of a massive earthquake that killed more than 80,000 people in 2008.

Forecasters are predicting more rain for the area.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.