The death toll from last Friday's flash floods that swept through a school in northeast China rose to 103 yesterday after the bodies of four more students were found.
The victims in the Heilongjiang Province tragedy included 99 primary school students. Six people remained missing.
Although still haunted by the loss of their friends and relatives, survivors yesterday were recalling the many acts of heroism that took place.
"I was stunned by the torrents and would probably have been washed away if I hadn't been dragged to the roof by my teacher, Wang Zhanhong," said Pang Xiangqian, a fifth-grader at the Central Primary School in Ning'an City.
Flash floods caused by the heaviest rainstorm in 200 years hit Pang's school at around 2pm Friday, when 351 students were attending classes. The flood waters crumbled the school buildings and swept many students, along with four villagers, to their deaths.
As the water rose rapidly, many teachers smashed classroom windows with their hands and helped students escape.
"I didn't feel any pain even though my arms were bleeding after breaking the windows," said teacher Sha Xianjing, who led more than 20 students to safety.
Many of the children also showed courage in the face of danger.
Fourteen-year-old Wang Zhenchao and several other boys leaned against the classroom door to keep the floodwater from rushing in too quickly.
Although wang and his friends later had to retreat and stand on a windowsill for two hours before being rescued, he said he was proud of how he and his classmates had conducted themselves.