Desperate texts show people pleading for help inside flooded subway trains in China where 12 people drowned
- Subway trains filled with water in the flooded city of Zhengzhou, China.
- Hundreds of people were trapped, and many sent messages pleading for help.
- 12 people died, and more than 500 people were rescued.
Hundreds of people were trapped inside flooded subway cars filling with water as a major Chinese city battled devastating flooding.
Twelve were killed after two subway trains were submerged in Zhengzhou, Reuters reported. Authorities said more than 500 people were rescued.
Those trapped sent messages pleading for help.
One woman wrote on social media website Weibo, according to the BBC: "I can't speak any more. If no rescue comes in 20 minutes, hundreds of us will lose our lives."
Another person who was rescued wrote on social media, according to Reuters: "The water reached my chest. I was really scared, but the most terrifying thing was not the water, but the diminishing air supply in the carriage."
Video footage showed people standing in waist-high water:
And this video shows rescue workers in the system:
Rescuers were able to pull people out after they were trapped for several hours, the BBC reported.
Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated because of the flooding, and at least 33 people have died, according to Reuters. Zhengzhou has a population of around 12 million.