Tourist boats capsize in sudden storm in southwest China, leaving 9 dead and 1 missing

BEIJING AP Four boats capsized in a sudden storm on a river in southwestern China leaving nine people dead and one missing state media disclosed Monday More than people fell into the water when strong winds hit the scenic area in Guizhou province on Sunday afternoon state broadcaster CCTV explained The boats capsized after a sudden rain and hail storm hit the upper reaches of the Wu River a tributary of the Yangtze China s longest river In one video shared by state media a man could be seen performing CPR on another person while one of the vessels drifted upside down Initial reports noted two tourist boats had capsized but state media announced on Monday that four boats were involved The other two boats had no passengers and the seven crew members were able to save themselves CCTV explained Guizhou s mountains and rivers are a major tourism draw and a great number of Chinese are traveling during a five-day national holiday that ends Monday Chinese President Xi Jinping called for all-out efforts to find the missing and care for the injured the official Xinhua News Agency declared on Sunday Noting a latest series of fatal accidents Xi underscored the importance of strengthening safety at tourist attractions large community venues and residential communities as well as for the rush of people returning at the end of holidays CCTV revealed the capsized boats each had a maximum quota of about people and were not overloaded An eyewitness stated state-owned Beijing News the waters were deep but that several people had managed to swim to safety However the storm had come suddenly and a thick mist obscured the surface of the river Source