Rescuers found the body of a 3-year-old child Friday morning and 17 people remained missing after a reservoir dam broke amid rainstorms in central China's Hubei Province.

The cofferdam of the Dalongtan Reservoir in Enshi City was damaged by a sudden flooding water at 5:49 pm Thursday, sweeping away 18 people, including four construction workers and a mini-bus carrying 12 children, a teacher and a driver.

The body of the child was recovered by rescuers at about 9:00 am Friday some one km from the dam site, according to Yang Chenqing, secretary general of Enshi prefecture government.

All the 12 children and the teacher from the city's Wangwang Kindergarten were engulfed as they headed home Thursday afternoon, Yang said.

Rescue workers believed the mini-bus was dismembered amid the turbulent flood as they found the awning and two wheels.

Local government mobilized more than 5,000 people, including 500 soldiers and armed police, from four neighboring counties to comb the 200-km long section areas along the Qingjiang River, one tributary of the mighty Yangtze River.

The reservoir was still under construction when rainstorms on Wednesday and Thursday in the upper reaches of the Qingjiang River brought torrents into the reservoir, breaking the cofferdam Thursday night.

The dam site recorded a flash rainfall of 28 mm within an hour Thursday morning.

Rescue work and search for the missing are still under way.

(Xinhua News Agency May 28, 2004)