Snowstorms claim 36 lives
2005-03-18 09:51
Beijing - Snowstorms and unusually cold winter weather have killed 36 people in China's south-western province of Yunnan and stranded more than 190 000, a news report said on Friday.
Economic losses were believed to total 2.5 billion yuan ($300m), the China Daily newspaper said. It didn't say how the deaths occurred or give details of the people stranded.
Yunnan is in the tropics, but much of it is mountainous and the province's western part includes glaciers and the foothills of the Himalayas.
A photo in the China Daily showed children playing in heavy snow in Yunnan's provincial capital, Kunming, which is 1 900m above sea level.
Earlier reports said the province has been hammered since March 5 by snow and rain storms that destroyed hundreds of homes, washed away crops and livestock, and cut power and phone lines. - AP
- SAPA