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30 Qiantang Tide Watchers Narrowly Escape Death
The 30 tide watchers swept away Friday by tide were all rescued from the Qiantang River Saturday, and six seriously injured were sent to hospital for treatment.
Friday afternoon, hundreds of tourists gathered off the Qiantang River in Xiaoshan City to view its magical waves. All of a sudden, the tide, three to four meters high, swept 30 of them into the water.
Rescue staff and local residents tried to save them as soon as the tide ebbed.
An increasing number of tourists have come to the city for the Qiantang River Wave Watching Festival, which starts on September 15.
The festival has been held annually since 1994 and has attracted some 3 million tourists.
The tides on the Qiantang are a strange phenomenon. Scientists say that the bell-shaped mouth of the Qiantang River helps form the tidal change, which can be as high as 3.5 meters.
In the past, only the Moon Festival on the traditional Chinese calendar, which falls on September 12 this year, was considered the good time for tide watching. However, scientists say the spring tide there is also interesting.
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