Chinese boy, 9, missing after being swept away by wave as Typhoon Dolphin approached coast
Rescuers continued searching on Sunday for a nine-year-old boy who has been missing since he was swept away by a giant wave in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang. The incident, in the coastal town of Shitang, happened on Friday afternoon – a time when a typhoon warning was already in place as Typhoon Dolphin headed towards the province. Local officials warned that high tides, rapid currents…
On Friday afternoon, a nine-year-old boy went missing after being swept away by a powerful wave in Shitang, a coastal town in eastern China's Zhejiang province. Typhoon Dolphin was approaching the province, and local officials had issued a warning about hazardous conditions including high tides, swift currents, and perilous whirlpools.
Footage circulating on Chinese social media showed two adults and two children, including the missing boy, rushing across a stone and cement causeway connecting the mainland to a rocky island. As they reached the middle of the exposed walkway, a massive wave several meters tall crashed over the path, causing all four to plummet to the ground.
Only three managed to stand up, but the boy could not grab onto anything and disappeared with the waves. A bystander was heard angrily yelling at the remaining family members to return to safety, warning that the area was dangerous. Shanghai news portal thepaper.cn reported that local authorities had cordoned off the coastline and erected temporary fences, but the group disregarded the warning signs and entered the restricted coastal zone.
A local official stated that access roads to the seafront had been closed well ahead of the storm, but the four had entered through a small passageway. Rescue teams found 10 others trapped on the offshore island, and they were successfully rescued. The search and rescue operation continued on Sunday, but due to the turbulent sea conditions, rescuers could only survey the high ground using telescopes.
The incident sparked outrage on Chinese social media, with users primarily blaming the child's guardians for ignoring safety warnings and not holding his hand while crossing the causeway.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
