HENAN

Gravel truck overturns, killing 8 and injuring 11

Eight people died and 11 were injured after a truck carrying gravel overturned on Tuesday afternoon in Shangcheng county, Henan province, the county government said on Wednesday. The victims had been picking up garlic cloves that had spilled into the road from another truck in Suxianshi town, on Henan's border with Anhui province, it said. The victims lived nearby and had gathered to collect the garlic after hearing about the spill. At around 4:25 pm on Tuesday, the gravel truck entered Shangcheng from Anhui. Upon reaching the people in the road, it rolled over, crushing people underneath. Two died at the scene and six others succumbed to their injuries later at the hospital. The 11 others who were injured are in stable condition, Wednesday's statement said.

BEIJING

China renews blue alert for heavy rainstorms

China's national observatory on Wednesday renewed a blue alert, the least severe in the country's four-tier system, for rainstorms in parts of the country's southwestern, eastern and southern regions. From Wednesday afternoon to Thursday afternoon, heavy rainfall and rainstorms are expected in parts of Shanghai and Chongqing municipalities; Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Yunnan provinces; and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, the National Meteorological Center said. Some regions will see up to 110 millimeters of hourly precipitation, the center said. The center advised local authorities to remain alert for possible flooding, landslides and mudslides and recommended halting outdoor operations in hazardous areas.

China Daily - Xinhua