Six children and one adult were killed, and one child was left missing, when a rainstorm swept a northeast China city on Thursday afternoon, authorities said on Friday.

The downpour hit several towns in Yushu City, Jilin Province at about 3:30 PM on Thursday, according to Wang Lixue, the city's acting mayor.

Shortly thereafter, seven students and an adult from Changqing village in Baoshou Township were swept away by floods on a village road when they were returning from the Changqing Village Primary School after classes.

By 2:00 PM on Friday, rescuers had retrieved the bodies of six students and the adult. Nearly 500 firefighters and residents are still searching for the last missing child.

(Xinhua News Agency June 6, 2008)