Student falls into sewer, vanishes

Rescuers on Sunday continued their search for a 21-year-old student who fell through an open storm sewer into the drainage system below and was washed away during a rainstorm in Changsha, Hunan Province, her mother told the Global Times.

Search efforts were made across the city, and after more than 40 hours, rescuers still had not found the young woman. At the old south railway station of the city, rescuers carried out two separate searches of the sewage pipes, but failed to find any trace of the woman.

"The complexity of the sewer system makes the rescue difficult," said the mother, Fu Shunxiu. "The local authorities promised that they would not give up their rescue efforts until they find my daughter."

Yang Lijun, a jewelry appraisal senior from Beijing Nationality University, had come to Changsha two weeks ago to look for a job.

On Friday afternoon, Yang planed to talk her mother about her job-hunting progress. After cooking supper for her former boyfriend, Yang left without taking an umbrella.

On the street, Yang suddenly fell through the open storm drain. The cover was reportedly washed away by the rainwater.

The drain has a diameter of 1.5 meters and is 6 meters deep. Turbulent waters were flowing through the sewer at the time.

Yang's friend called the police immediately. Ten minutes later, three rescue teams arrived on the scene, Sanxiang Metropolis Daily reported.

The rescuers checked 45 nearby storm sewers but found nothing.

The mother has been watching the rescue efforts live on television in a hotel in Changsha, where she is staying with 20 relatives. Yang's teachers and classmates have also contacted the mother.

Some residents said the poor condition of the storm sewer system is to blame for the accident.

"No one pays much attention to or does much work on infrastructure," a local worker surnamed Peng told the Global Times.

The local maritime authorities sent a rescue boat to search the Xiangjiang River, where the sewer network flows. A volunteer rescue team continued searching the nearby waters, but as of Sunday evening had found nothing.

Many local residents came to the scene offering to help the rescuers. Others held a vigil for Yang on Saturday evening, the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald reported.