High water sweeps fire truck into a river, leaving 5 missing, as tropical storm hits China

BEIJING (AP) — High waters swept a fire truck into a river in southeastern China early Tuesday, leaving five crew members missing, local authorities said, as the second tropical storm in recent days hit the mainland.

Haikui weakened to a tropical storm as it scraped along the coastline of Fujian and Guangdong provinces Tuesday morning, bringing up to 600 millimeters (2 feet) of rainfall to some areas as it moves inland, according to China’s meteorological agency.

The fire truck swept into a river in Fujian’s Yongtai county had been carrying nine crew members. Rescuers were “doing all they can” to find the five still unaccounted for, according to the county emergency response headquarters, as cited by online news site The Paper.

Water transportation and work along the coastline had been suspended ahead of Haikui, which was typhoon strength when it crossed the southern tip of Taiwan on Sunday without causing major damage.

Haikui followed Typhoon Saola ‘s landfall early Saturday along the Guangdong coast. The typhoon had sideswiped Hong Kong last week, causing some flooding.

In recent months, China has had some of its heaviest rains and deadliest flooding in years. Dozens of people have been killed, including in outlying mountainous parts of the capital, Beijing.