12 killed in tidal current in E.China_社会生活

12 killed in tidal current in E.China

文章来源：文章作者：发布时间：2007-08-06 00:52 字体： [大中小]　进入论坛

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HANGZHOU, Aug. 4 - Rescuers salvaged¹ four more corpses² from the Qiantang River in east China's Zhejiang Province early on Saturday, bringing the death toll³ in the rising tide on the same river on Thursday to 12.

The newly found remains⁴ were salvaged from the water area one to five km downstream the place where the tidal current first rose and swept away more than 30 people who were either swimming in the river or strolling around on the embankment, said Qi Yong, a leading maritime⁵ squad⁶ officer with Hangzhou City Public Security Department.

The drowned consisted of six males and six females. It will take some time to ascertain⁷ whether the newly found four remains were counted as missing, said Qi.

Xie Liewei, deputy magistrate⁸ of Jianggan District in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, said the number of the drowned might keep going up as the rescue operation continued.

Xie said the public security units were checking the figures as many people at the site had come alone or without telling others of their whereabouts. All the dead and the missing were believed to be Chinese.

An office has been set up to register more reports from family members.

Twenty-two people were rescued after the tidal bore swept away dozens of 30 people who were either swimming in the river or walking along a T-shaped levee near the mouth of the Qiantang River on the outskirts⁹ of Hangzhou.

The tides on the Qiantang are a peculiar¹⁰ phenomenon and always attract spectators. Scientists say that the trumpet-shaped mouth of the Qiantang River helps form the tidal change, which can be as high as 3.5 meters.

The tragedy occurred on Thursday afternoon when the tide was moving at a normal speed of 15 km per hour, which appeared "mild" from a distance, said Zhou Guangming, a tide expert.

However, its power reached up to four to seven tons per cubic meter when it rushed into the trumpet-shaped levee.

Most of the victims and the missing were from other parts of China as local residents were usually aware of the danger and never risked their lives in the river, said Zhou.

Experts attribute the formation of powerful tidal currents in the river in recent years to the accumulation of silt¹¹ washed down in the Yangtze River, the change of the water course, the strong wind that always accompanies the tide and floods upstream.

The worst tidal accident occurred on Oct. 3, 1993, when the tidewater swept 86 people from the levee, leaving 19 dead, 40 missing and 27 injured.

The local government has hired a group of local people to patrol the river and warn people of the danger of incoming tides.

Ren Baojin, an elderly man who worked for about ten years as a "tide shouter", said he and his colleagues shouted out when the tide was approaching, but many people, especially those from other regions, often ignored the warning.

The local government has ordered round-the-clock patrols along the river and reinforcement of supervision¹² at dangerous sites. Warning signs will be erected¹³ to keep people away. It was also suggested that all the levees along the river should be closed, said public security bureau officials.

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1 salvaged
（从火灾、海难等中）抢救（某物）( salvage的过去式和过去分词 )；回收利用（某物）
参考例句：
The investigators studied flight recorders salvaged from the wreckage. 调查者研究了从飞机残骸中找到的黑匣子。 The team's first task was to decide what equipment could be salvaged. 该队的首要任务是决定可以抢救哪些设备。

2 corpses
n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。来自《简明英汉词典》 Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

3 toll
n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)
参考例句：
The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。 The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 remains
n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹
参考例句：
He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。 The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 maritime
adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的
参考例句：
Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。 The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

6 squad
n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组
参考例句：
The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。 A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

7 ascertain
vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清
参考例句：
It's difficult to ascertain the coal deposits.煤储量很难探明。 We must ascertain the responsibility in light of different situtations.我们必须根据不同情况判定责任。

8 magistrate
n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官
参考例句：
The magistrate committed him to prison for a month.法官判处他一个月监禁。 John was fined 1000 dollars by the magistrate.约翰被地方法官罚款1000美元。

9 outskirts
n.郊外，郊区
参考例句：
Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。 They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

10 peculiar
adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的
参考例句：
He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。 He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

11 silt
n.淤泥，淤沙，粉砂层，泥沙层；vt.使淤塞；vi.被淤塞
参考例句：
The lake was almost solid with silt and vegetation.湖里几乎快被淤泥和植物填满了。 During the annual floods the river deposits its silt on the fields.每年河水泛滥时都会在田野上沉积一层淤泥。

12 supervision
n.监督，管理
参考例句：
The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。 The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

13 ERECTED
adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立
参考例句：
A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。 A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。

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