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China Snow Crisis Turns Deadly

Wild weather continues to strand thousands, cripple power supply

By Lucas Laursen,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 29, 2008 7:46 AM CST

(Newser) – China’s record snowstorm has killed at least 25 people when the bus they were riding in careened off a slick mountain road in the southwestern province of Guizhou, reports Reuters. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao today visited hordes of stranded train passengers in Hunan province, and the government urged migrant workers not to travel to next week’s Lunar New Year until the worst snowstorm in 50 years abates.

Power plants are low on coal supplies due to blocked roads and railways, and plants have cut power to many industrial and residential clients in the worst power crisis in history. Over 20,000 vehicles are stranded on the Guangdon-Hunan road, and 6,500 flights have been cancelled.

In this photo released by the official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, Premier Wen Jiabao, left, speaks by a loudspeaker to the stranded passengers at the Railway Station of Changsha in central China's Hunan province on Tuesday January 29, 2008. Wen arrived in Changsha on Tuesday to help direct disaster relief...
In this photo released by the official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, Premier Wen Jiabao, left, speaks by a loudspeaker to the stranded passengers at the Railway Station of Changsha in central China's Hunan...   (Associated Press)
Chinese couple walks past a snow-covered statue of Karl Marx, left, and Frederick Engels, right, the founders of communism at a snowy park Tuesda, Jan. 29, 2008 in Shanghai, China. Coal shortages are forcing Chinese power plants to shut down amid severe winter weather, and snow is hampering deliveries of...
Chinese couple walks past a snow-covered statue of Karl Marx, left, and Frederick Engels, right, the founders of communism at a snowy park Tuesda, Jan. 29, 2008 in Shanghai, China. Coal shortages are...   (Associated Press)
Stranded passengers wait in a snow-covered yard to get into the railway station in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province Monday Jan. 28, 2008. At least 25 people were killed and 13 injured when a bus plunged off an icy road in southern China early Tuesday, as bad wether severely...
Stranded passengers wait in a snow-covered yard to get into the railway station in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province Monday Jan. 28, 2008. At least 25 people were killed and 13 injured when a bus...   (Associated Press)
Chinese soldiers clean the remaining of snow as passengers wait for their delayed trains outside of the Shanghai Station Tuesday Jan. 29, 2008 in Shanghai, China. At least 25 people were killed and 13 injured when a bus plunged off an icy road in southern China early Tuesday, as the...
Chinese soldiers clean the remaining of snow as passengers wait for their delayed trains outside of the Shanghai Station Tuesday Jan. 29, 2008 in Shanghai, China. At least 25 people were killed and 13...   (Associated Press)
Stranded passengers wait to get into the railway station in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province Monday Jan. 28, 2008. A new round of blizzards threatened Chinese provinces Monday as they tried to dig out from snow and ice storms that have stranded hundreds of thousands of people during the...
Stranded passengers wait to get into the railway station in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province Monday Jan. 28, 2008. A new round of blizzards threatened Chinese provinces Monday as they tried to...   (Associated Press)
In this photo released by the official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, passengers consult at a counter in Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, east China, on Tuesday January 29, 2008. Many domestic and international flights from this airport were influenced by the severe snow and icy weather leaving a lot of...
In this photo released by the official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, passengers consult at a counter in Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, east China, on Tuesday January 29, 2008. Many domestic...   (Associated Press)
A Chinese girl plays at a snowy park Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2008 in Shanghai, China. Coal shortages are forcing Chinese power plants to shut down amid severe winter weather, and snow is hampering deliveries of fresh supplies, a state news agency said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A Chinese girl plays at a snowy park Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2008 in Shanghai, China. Coal shortages are forcing Chinese power plants to shut down amid severe winter weather, and snow is hampering deliveries...   (Associated Press)
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