Flash Floods in the Xinjiang Region

Heavy rains in China's far west triggered a mudslide that killed 10 construction workers near a railway bridge and flash floods that killed at least five shepherds, the official Xinhua News Agency said Wednesday. The mudslide struck Tuesday on the Lanzhou-Urumqi railway in the Xinjiang region, Xinhua said. "The mudslide suddenly came down from the mountains and hit a section of the railroad," Xinhua said on its Web site. "It left a gaping hole and tracks were hanging in the air. Service was suspended." Five workers at a nearby construction site were killed on the spot and one was injured. Another five were reported missing but their bodies were found early Wednesday, Xinhua said. It said the damage has been repaired and traffic on the railway has resumed. Meanwhile, in the sparsely populated, mountainous Altay region, flash floods washed away the yurts - traditional tentlike homes - of four households on Tuesday night, Xinhua said. It wasn't immediately clear how many people were in the yurts but rescuers have found the bodies of five shepherds so far, it said. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-07/05/content_633975.htm