At least 10 dead in dam collapse in China

At least 10 people died and others were missing after a dam collapsed on Friday following torrential rain brought by Typhoon Haikui to eastern China's Zhejiang province.

The breached dam on the Shenjiakeng Reservoir, which lies in hills near the city of Zhoushan, released a torrent of water that destroyed several homes in Zhejiang's Daishan county, according to state media photographs and reports.

The 28.5-metre dam collapsed around 5am (2100 GMT Thursday), killing at least 10, injuring 27 and leaving an unknown number of people missing, the reports said.

The semi-official China News Service showed paramilitary rescue teams searching mud and rubble in an unidentified village below the dam.

The agency said many homes were "washed away" in the flood from the reservoir.

Typhoon Haikui had already killed at least four people in Zhejiang and the neighbouring Shanghai and Anhui regions since Wednesday.

Authorities in the three regions evacuated some two million people as the typhoon brought gales and torrential rain.

Photo: Getty Images