Survivor recounts experience in Zhengzhou Metro flood

A man wades through a waterlogged road in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province, July 20, 2021. (Xinhua/Hou Jianxun)

ZHENGZHOU, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A female survivor named Li had never imagined that she would have such a close brush with death before she was rescued from Zhengzhou Metro Line 5.

The central Chinese city of Zhengzhou on Tuesday was lashed by record rainstorms, causing at least 12 deaths and five injures.

The city saw 201.9 mm of precipitation from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, a record hourly high for the Chinese mainland.

At approximately 6 p.m. Tuesday, Line 5 halted its service after the tunnel suffered severe rain-triggered flooding. Li was one of the passengers trapped in the subway cars.

"Our company let us off at 4 p.m. But we waited for more than an hour before we left because of the deep water in front of our building," said Li, recounting her experience to a local media. She finally decided to take the subway home as she was worried about the standing water on the roads.

She boarded the train, which suddenly stopped in the tunnel as it neared the second stop. Water then began to seep into the subway carriages, causing passengers to become alarmed.

As the water level in the tunnel continued to rise, so did the water level in the carriages. Before long, the passengers were chest-deep in the water, with some even standing on the subway seats to keep their heads above water.

"I was really scared. The most terrible thing was not the water, but the air that was getting thinner and thinner. Many people had symptoms of breathing difficulties," recalled Li.

As the messages for help sent by the passengers spread, rescue forces from the municipal fire department and subway company were dispatched to the scene and located the trapped people immediately. Li said footsteps were heard from the carriage roof at around 8:10 p.m., and the rescue workers broke the carriage windows.

"At that time, everyone was comforting each other and helping the people around them. All the men said 'ladies go first,'" said Li.

As of 3:10 a.m. Wednesday, all the trapped passengers in the subway tunnel had been moved to safety. More than 500 people were evacuated, according to official data.