THE strongest March snowstorm to hit Northeast China’s Liaoning Province in 56 years has left at least one person dead and seven injured after the roof of an agricultural trade building collapsed under the weight of the snow, local sources said.

Three arched ceilings of the Minglian Agricultural Trade Building in Huanggu District, in the provincial capital of Shenyang, collapsed at noon yesterday, burying about 20 stall owners and customers, said a witness.

Rescuers are still searching for survivors under the debris. Hospital sources said most of the injured suffered bone fractures.

Since Saturday night, rain and snow has fallen continually in most parts of Liaoning Province, with reported precipitations of 36 millimeters in Shenyang, 56 mm in Dalian and 68 mm in Dandong, according to Shenyang Meteorological Observatory.

Snow levels reached two meters in some areas, it said.

The snowstorm forced Taoxian International Airport in Shenyang to close at 8 a.m. yesterday. By 4 p.m., more than 100 flights had been cancelled and more than 1,000 passengers were stranded at the airport, which was hoping to reopen today.

Eleven expressways in Liaoning were all closed.

Classes were suspended today for 900,000 primary and middle school students in Shenyang.

At Beijing Capital International Airport, more than 200 flights were delayed by 1 p.m. yesterday due to snowfall, airport sources said.

Tianjin Binhai International Airport was closed at 7 a.m. yesterday and more than 20 flights were delayed, according to airport sources.

Ships have been ordered to stay in harbor and people evacuated to safety in coastal areas in East and North China as the country braces for the strongest storm tide in 38 years yesterday and today.

(Xinhua)

Cars are stranded on a street amid heavy snow in Shenyang, capital of Northeast China’s Liaoning Province, yesterday. Xinhua