Residents mourn drowned subway riders in central China

Residents have laid flowers at the entrance of a subway station where 14 people died after a record-breaking downpour flooded large swaths of Henan province in central China

ZHENGZHOU, China -- Residents laid bouquet after bouquet, the neatly tied yellow and white flowers standing on end, on Tuesday outside an entrance to a subway station in central China where 14 people died last week after a record-breaking downpour flooded large swaths of Henan province. Torrents of water rushed into a subway line in the provincial capital, Zhengzhou, trapping a train with hundreds of passengers between two stations. The deluge drowned some and left others gasping for breath in chest-high water until emergency crews could reach them. “I’m filled with grief,” said Zhengzhou resident Zhang Shuai, 35, who bowed three times in front of the entrance after laying a bouquet of chrysanthemums. “I hope that their relatives can recover from this tragedy as soon as possible.” At least 71 people perished in the floods, according to an updated death toll Tuesday. Zhengzhou authorities said 14 had died in the subway station, up from 12 reported earlier.