Seven dead after flash-flood tragedy in Sichuan

Seven people were killed and eight injured after flash floods hit the city of Pengzhou's Longcaogou Valley in southwestern China's Sichuan Province on Saturday, Cover News reported.

The incident took place around 3:30pm Saturday when sudden rising water triggered by heavy rainfall struck the area.

As online videos showed, tourists can be seen camping in tents by the river. Some were trapped when floodwater poured into the waterway.

Some netizens pointed out that the part of Longcaogou where the incident occurred is a spillway river, not a formal scenic spot, and very dangerous.

However, it was widely considered an "Instagram-worthy location" on social media platforms including Xiaohongshu. Prior to the incident, a search for "Longcaogou" on social media brought up descriptions calling it "a good place to play in water to escape the heat" and "a great place to camp." Many bloggers even shared detailed travel strategies in their posts. However, few mentioned the natural risks in their articles such as mudslides and flash floods.

Many people visited Longcaogou to escape from the heat, especially on weekends, even though signs, banners and fences were in place beside the river warning of flood risks. Early in 2021, the local government also issued warnings of the dangers.

After the incident, some netizens doubted whether social media platforms should bear the responsibility.

Wang Rengen, a lawyer in Sichuan, told Cover News that even if there were relevant videos and articles recommending Longcaogou on the platforms, it's a stretch to place the blame on them because the videos and articles weren't published by the platforms but posted by netizens. It's impossible for platforms to evaluate the safety risks of every recommended site.

"However, if netizens had reported or complained to the platforms, the platforms have the obligation to confirm and review the sites in a timely manner. If these complaints were ignored, allowing such articles or videos on the platforms, misleading netizens and causing security incidents, the platforms should bear supplementary compensation liability within a certain range," Wang said.

After the incident, recommendations about Longcaogou were deleted from several platforms and replaced by safety warnings or posts about how to escape when encountering flash floods.