Search went on Sunday for the missing people in the Yellow River
after a bus fell into the icy water late Saturday in northern
China, even though there is almost no chance of survival, rescuers
said.
The bus with 35 passengers and one driver aboard suddenly fell
into the Yellow River while driving on the frozen surface at the
section of the Hanggin Banner (prefecture) in the Inner Mongolia
Autonomous Region at about 4:00 PM Saturday, said Bao Shengrong,
secretary of the Hanggin Banner Committee of the Communist Party of
China.
Only eight persons were saved and the other 28 were still
missing, Bao said, adding that the eight survivals are receiving
treatment in a nearby hospital.
Initial investigation shows that the cave-in of the "icy road"
caused the bus to sink into the freezing river, and the bus has
actually 29 seats, according to local authorities.
"There is a large crack on the icy surface and rescuers couldn't
go near at night," Bao said.
By 9 AM Sunday, the local government had mobilized a group of
armed police officers, 20 firemen, six divers and 20 emergency
vehicles to the scene for salvage.
"But there is basically no chance of survival for the missing
people," a rescuer at the scene who didn't want to be named, told
Xinhua, citing the chilly weather, frozen river surface and deep
water six meters in depth at the cave-in site.
The firemen have started breaking the ice for further rescue
operations.
(Xinhua News Agency December 25, 2005)