Nine dead and one missing after tourist boats capsize during sudden storm in China

Nine people died and one was missing after a sudden storm caused four tourist boats to capsize in southwestern China’s Guizhou province, according to state media.

The vessels, carrying 84 passengers and crew, overturned at around 4pm local time on Sunday when a powerful hail and rainstorm swept across the Liuchong river in Qianxi city.

The river is a tributary of the upper Wujiang, which eventually feeds into the Yangtze, China’s longest river. Guizhou’s dramatic mountainous landscape and rivers are a popular draw for domestic tourists, particularly during China’s five-day May Day holiday, which ended on Monday.

State broadcaster CCTV reported that 70 survivors were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries while four visitors emerged unscathed.

Search and rescue teams had pulled more than 50 people from the water by 7pm on Sunday and operations continued into Monday to locate the remaining missing individual, AFP news agency reported.

President Xi Jinping urged authorities to make “all-out efforts” to find the last person unaccounted for and ensure proper treatment for the injured.

Mr Xi also emphasised the need to reinforce safety protocols at tourist destinations and public venues, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Vice premier Zhang Guoqing travelled to the scene to oversee rescue operations while nearly 500 personnel, including police officers, firefighters and medical workers, were mobilised by provincial authorities.

A video released by state media showed a man attempting CPR on a victim near one of the upturned boats, which drifted upside down in the swollen river.

An eyewitness told Beijing News the storm arrived suddenly and thick mist made visibility poor.

The cause of the capsizing was under investigation though authorities confirmed that the boats were not overloaded. Each of the two main vessels involved was carrying around 40 people, according to CCTV.

The tragedy came just over two months after 11 people died in a boating accident in central China’s Hunan province, where a passenger vessel collided with an industrial ship.