Two villages flooded as dam bursts in north-west China

dpa German Press Agency Published: Thursday April 19, 2007

Beijing- Floodwater engulfed two villages after a dam burst
on Thursday in north-western China's Gansu province, officials and
state media said.
The dam began to crack at around midday and about 15 metres of the
10-metre-high dam wall collapsed, allowing water to pour out of the
Xiaohaizi reservoir onto surrounding farmland in Gansu's Gaotai
county, the government's Xinhua news agency said.

Rescue teams were sent to the area to evacuate local residents and
state media had reported no casualties by early Thursday evening.

Officials in Gaotai's Nanhua township, where the two villages are
located, said they were "not clear" about the flooding and refused to
give further details.

The reservoir was built in 2004 and has a storage capacity of 3.5
million cubic metres, the agency said.

© 2006 - dpa German Press Agency

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