China’s northeast hit by unseasonable blizzard as heavy snow causes mass disruption

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Hong Kong CNN —

Unusually early heavy snowfall blanketed swathes of northeastern China this week, forcing airlines to cancel flights, halting trains and shutting schools and roads in the country’s first major blizzard of the season.

The first snowfall in northeast China usually takes place between late November and early December, state-run news outlet The Paper reported, citing a chief weather forecaster from China’s National Meteorological Center.

In Heilongjiang, China’s northernmost province, the railway operator halted 51 passenger trains on Tuesday due to the snowstorm. Harbin, the provincial capital, canceled more than 400 flights at its international airport on Monday, while some smaller airports in the province canceled all flights.

Schools, kindergartens, and off-campus training institutions in most parts of Harbin were suspended on Monday and Tuesday, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

In the city of Jiamusi, authorities are investigating after a gymnasium collapsed on Monday amid the snowstorm, killing three students who were trapped inside, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Seven middle school students were playing basketball at the sports club when the roof collapsed on them, Xinhua reported. Three escaped while four others were trapped, the report said.

The cause of the collapse remains under investigation. The gym was completed in 2018 and passed a safety inspection in 2020, according to Xinhua.

Heavy snow falls in Xiangfang district of Harbin, Heilongjiang province, on November 6, 2023.

This is the second gymnasium collapse in Heilongjiang