China snowstorms kill 2 Japanese tourists

SHIJIAZHUANG - Two Japanese tourists were killed and one remained missing after being trapped in a snow-covered mountain in north China's Hebei Province, local authorities said late Sunday night.

Two Japanese women, aged 62 and 68, were confirmed dead and a 76-year-old Japanese man remained missing, the Huailai county's publicity department said in a statement.

Another Japanese tourist, 59, and a Chinese man, who works for a Japanese tourist agency, were under treatment at a village clinic as roads out of the mountain were still closed.

The four Japanese tourists and two Chinese tourists climbed a mountain from the Beijing side to tour a section of the Great Wall Saturday morning.The six were trapped in snowstorms after reaching a mountainous region in Huailai county in the neighboring province of Hebei, according to the statement.

More than 150 people battled waist-deep snow to search for tourists after learning from a Chinese tourist who came down the mountain to seek police help.

Heavy snows hit many places in north China, including Beijing and Hebei, over the weekends.