Five bodies have been found after a flash flood triggered by sudden downpour in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, confirmed local authorities Thursday.

The flooding occurred at about 4:00PM on Wednesday, when a sudden rainstorm hit the Yangxia mining area in Luntai county, in southern Xinjiang's Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture.

Eight of the 19 workers with the Xinjiang bureau of coal geology who were drilling and exploring in the area managed to escape, but the rest disappeared in the floods.

Rescuers are still searching for six others.

Heavy rains have swept Xinjiang since last Saturday, killing nine people in northern Xinjiang's Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture and injuring 11 others.

Floods triggered by the rains inundated 9,933 hectares of crops in Changji, destroying 800 homes, killing 962 cattle and forcing the relocation of 5,891 people in the prefecture.

(Xinhua News Agency July 20, 2007)