On the morning of the 30th, the Sichuan Provincial People's Government held a press conference in Jinyang County, Liangshan Prefecture, to report the latest situation of the "8·21" flash flood disaster.

According to reports, in the early hours of August 21, affected by short-term heavy rainfall, a flash flood occurred in Lugao Town, Jinyang County, Liangshan Prefecture, and the construction site of the JN1 section of the Yanjiang Expressway project undertaken by Shudao Group was affected. At the time of the disaster, there were 201 people at the project site. Currently, 149 people have escaped, 4 have died, and 48 are missing.

Investigation and evidence collection have found that Liu and four others from the project department and labor company of the JN1 section of the Yanjiang Expressway are suspected of the crime of "failure to report or false reporting of safety accidents." On August 28, the public security organ took criminal detention measures against Liu and the four others in accordance with the law.‍

Sichuan Reports on the Investigation and Handling of the "8·21" Flash Flood Disaster

According to the press conference, in the early hours of August 21, Jinyang County, Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province, was hit by a flash flood due to short-term heavy rainfall. The prefabricated housing for migrant workers at the steel processing yard of the project department of the JN1 (Jinning No. 1) section of the Yanjiang Expressway of Shudao Group, located downstream of the Lugao Lin River in Jinyang County, was washed away, causing casualties and missing persons.

Before the disaster, based on weather forecasts and rainstorm warnings, relevant departments such as flood control and emergency response had issued multiple warnings and scheduling for the JN1 (Jinning No. 1) section project of the Yanjiang Expressway. The safety officer and duty personnel of the project department confirmed and feedback, but did not organize the evacuation and transfer of personnel in a timely manner as required.

After the disaster, Jinyang County and Liangshan Prefecture successively launched a Level III flood control emergency response, and Sichuan Province launched a Level IV flood control emergency response. The provincial party committee and government immediately deployed rescue and relief work. The provincial flood control headquarters immediately organized the Department of Emergency Management, the Department of Water Resources, the Department of Transportation and other departments to rush to the scene, and together with local authorities carried out emergency rescue. More than 2,000 rescue personnel of various types were deployed to conduct a dragnet search and rescue in the Lugao Lin River channel, the Jinsha River waters, main traffic roads, and riverside forests. After search and rescue, four bodies of victims were recovered on August 23, 24, and 27.

As search and rescue and verification work continued to deepen, it was found that there were doubts about the number of missing persons reported by the project construction company. The provincial level immediately established the Liangshan Prefecture Jinyang County "8·21" Flash Flood Disaster Missing Persons Investigation and Handling Leading Group. The public security organ summoned and investigated relevant personnel from the project department and labor company of the JN1 (Jinning No. 1) section of the Yanjiang Expressway in accordance with the law, and simultaneously carried out verification visits, data analysis, and other work. It strengthened coordination with relevant parties in Yunnan and Guizhou, and organized elite police forces to conduct on-site inquiries and verification. After investigation and sorting, it was determined that there were 201 people at the project site at the time of the disaster, of whom 149 escaped, 4 died, and 48 are missing. Investigation and evidence collection have found that Liu and four others from the project department and labor company of the JN1 (Jinning No. 1) section of the Yanjiang Expressway are suspected of the crime of "failure to report or false reporting of safety accidents." On August 28, the public security organ took criminal detention measures against Liu and the four others in accordance with the law. Currently, the public security organ is fully carrying out case investigation.

The scene of the incident‍

Xi Jinping Issues Important Instructions on the "8·21" Flash Flood Disaster in Sichuan

After learning of the relevant situation, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, President of the People's Republic of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, issued important instructions, requiring all-out efforts to search for missing persons and properly handle aftermath work such as comforting the families; the State Council should send a working group to conduct a comprehensive investigation and seriously deal with relevant responsible persons in accordance with the law; it is necessary to deeply learn lessons, draw inferences from one case, comprehensively investigate problems, consolidate responsibilities of all parties, strengthen safety supervision, and ensure the safety of people's lives and property.

Li Qiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Premier of the State Council, gave instructions, requiring prompt verification of the situation, all-out search and rescue of missing persons, prompt identification of causes, learning lessons, and serious accountability in accordance with the law.

According to Xi Jinping's instructions and Li Qiang's requirements, the Ministry of Emergency Management sent a working group to the scene to guide search and rescue work, and Sichuan Province and Liangshan Prefecture organized rescue forces to carry out related work. Currently, all work is still being carried out in a tense and orderly manner.‍