The driver remembers a lucky escape from a tunnel in a flooded Chinese city

Locals tell the story of survival as China’s Zhengzhou city is devastated after the recent severe floods.

By July 24, official deaths had reached 58 across Henan, but actual numbers are much higher due to media censorship, according to locals who escaped from a submerged tunnel on July 20. There is a possibility of becoming.

At least 12 people were killed after a flood flooded a 2.5-mile highway tunnel in Zhengzhou, submerging hundreds of vehicles.

Sun Cho uses another name to lock him up in the Chinese Epoch Times, along with hundreds of other drivers, in a tunnel that is part of a major highway system connecting the State Capitol to other big cities in China. He said he was.

When he entered the tunnel around 3 pm, there seemed to be no danger, Zhao said.

“There were no signs of water pooling on the ground, but after that traffic almost stopped. Everyone was caught in a traffic jam,” Zhao said.

He said the water began to soar into the tunnel without warning.

“The flood water was poured from the outside. As the water began to rise, the traffic became more chaotic and completely clogged,” Zhao recalled.

He said people started to panic, abandoning their cars to escape the tunnel.

“The car was soaked in water that I had to get out as soon as possible and hurry to the tunnel exit. The car behind me had already been abandoned,” Zhao said.

“As soon as the entire tunnel submerged, I was able to understand it,” he said.

“It was too late for them [people] Make it behind me. “

Soaking wet and shivering from the downpour, Zhao stood at the central raised median with a flock of people who had just escaped the tunnel.

“There were about 12 people [behind me] Who couldn’t get it done, “he said. “But the information is currently being censored by the authorities, so it would be very difficult to know the actual number.”

The aerial photograph shows a car sitting in a flood at the entrance of the Jingguang Expressway tunnel after a heavy rain hit Zhengzhou in central Henan Province on July 22, 2021. (NoelCelis / AFP)

After a heavy rain in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, central China on July 21, 2021, the car will sit in the flood. (STR / AFP via Getty Images)

People are watching a car sitting in a flood after a heavy rain in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, central China on July 22, 2021. (Noel Celis via Getty Images / AFP)

Videos and photos are available online, with cars piled up along the road leading to the tunnel entrance and more cars trapped in a submerged tunnel.

The administration’s censors scrubbed Chinese social media for all videos and posts showing death and destruction from the flood. This is described as a local man-made disaster.

Gu Xiaohua and Gu Qing’er contributed to the report.