After being stranded on the flooded Beijing-Guangzhou railway line for around 40 hours over 8,800 passengers on five trains were evacuated.

 

Rainstorms and floods which were part of the severe tropical storm Bilis cut off the Meicun-Pingshi railway in southern China's Guangdong Province on Saturday night and stranded passengers on five trains in the capital city of Guangzhou.

 

The water level had risen to over a meter above the train tracks, rescuers said. Food and water have been provided for the passengers and more than 10,000 workers mobilized to repair the track.

 

Four of the stranded trains and one other had managed to depart from the flood-hit area by Monday afternoon. The flooding also affected some 100 trains in Hubei Province with four train services suspended. Local railway departments have been working hard to assist passengers and repair the tracks.

 

(Xinhua News Agency July 18, 2006)