Floods hit southern China

EDITORS NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL

Trapped in flood water as high as the windows - a group of travellers were stuck on a bus for hours in the middle of a deluge in southern China.

Rescuers used a safety line to wade through the water and reach those on board.

Sixteen passengers, including two babies, were pulled to safety.

The bus was travelling on a highway in Hunan Province when flood water, triggered by days of heavy rain, caused engine failure.

And it isn't the first flood rescue the province has seen this week.

On Tuesday (June 26) 18 workers at a plastics factory were evacuated as flood water rose up to six metres.

Severe weather has caused rivers to swell, inundating areas across various provinces in southern China.

Landslides and torrential rain have battered roads and damaged infrastructure in the region.

According to estimates, more than 1.5 million people across the country have been affected by the recent rainstorms.

Sarah Charlton, Reuters.