More than 200 rescuers are searching a primeval forest in northeast China's Jilin Province in an effort to find three reporters who disappeared six days ago in a Bermuda Triangle-like jungle region.

Five rescue teams, consisting of local lumberjacks, officials and forest police, have combed the "Ganfanpen" region in the Changbai Mountains, but failed to find any traces.

Continuous rainfall in the region had hampered the rescue efforts.

The rescue headquarters said the search would be widened in the coming days.

A spokesman from the City Evening News, based in the provincial capital of Changchun, where the reporters worked, said communication was lost after 9:00 pm on July 24.

The reporters were working on an environmental story in Ganfanpen, dubbed the "Valleys of Death" by locals after a spate of people went missing.

Local people said few people dared to go into the valleys in the past decades, as the area was known for its mystery, lush ravines and eccentric landforms that easily misled people.

"It's easy for people to lose their way, as any equipment, like compasses, fail to work there," said Cao Baoming, an art worker, who was rescued by local people in 1986.

"I felt dizzy immediately after I set foot in the jungle," said Cao, who is also chairman of the Jilin Provincial Association of Folk Arts.

"I could hear the cock crow nearby but I just couldn't find my way out," he recalled.
It was reported that the three missing reporters had food for five days and were well-equipped but did not have a local guide with them.

(Xinhua News Agency July 30, 2003)