Dozens missing as storms cause mudslides in China

China struggled to cope with widespread storms that left dozens missing and presumed dead yesterday as rescuers cleaned up a mudslide-stricken town, while two passenger train cars plunged into a river after crossing a flood-damaged bridge.

Rescue workers found four bodies in Puladi township of southwest China's Yunnan province, a day after a wall of mud crashed through the mountain community, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Rains expected over the next few days would likely hamper efforts to find 88 people still listed as missing.

It was just the latest landslide to strike China in a summer that has been plagued by deadly rains and flooding. The worst recent landslide was on 8 August in Zhouqu of Gansu province, where nearly 1,300 were killed and more than 400 people remain missing.

In southwestern China, authorities managed to evacuate all passengers from two train cars that dangled for several minutes over a muddy, rushing river before falling into the water.

The train was travelling in Guanghan city of Sichuan province when it began shaking and then stopped moving, dining car supervisor Wang Baoning told China Central Television. Floodwaters had loosened piers on the Shitingjiang bridge, Xinhua said.

The two cars were hanging over the water in a "V" shape, but were still connected to the adjacent carriages, Wang said. It took ten minutes to evacuate passengers from the cars.