The death toll from a flash flood that smashed into a primary school in northeast China has jumped to 64 - 62 of whom are children.
Rescue workers were looking for five pupils and two villagers still missing in the wake of the flash flood and “ensuing mountain torrent” that hit the town of Shalan near Ning'an city in Heilongjiang province yesterday.
Another 15 students and two teachers were hospitalised.
Most of the town was still under 3 ft of water, an employee at the hospital where the injured were taken said. All of the injured children were in stable condition, she said.
Chinese newspapers carried photographs showing the primary school half-buried by mud and water. Television footage showed brick buildings in the area with walls washed away and fields ravaged by floods.
Earlier official media reports had put the toll at 29 killed and four left missing by the flood, which reached up to two metres deep as it swept through the school and surrounding area
"Because the torrent was so fierce and strong, 23 first- and second-grade students were drowned and washed away," the Beijing Newssaid.
More than 350 children aged 6 to 14 and 31 teachers were at the school when the flood hit.
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.
More flooding is likely with heavy rains predicted for northern and southern China in coming days and several rivers locally reported to be close to bursting their banks.