Melting snow leads to floods in Xinjiang

A sudden flood triggered by melting snow has led to the collapse of a river embankment in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, local authorities said Saturday.

About 5,000 square meters of the embankment on the Sino-Kazakhstan border has been washed away by floods in the Altay region, according to local fire brigade authorities.

The water level of the river is still high but no further risks have been found.

Since Tuesday, large amounts of melting snow and continuous rain has gone into the border river and washed up against the embankment.

Rescue teams with large machinery have been sent to repair and reinforce the embankment.