Chinese city hunts for escaped crocodiles

GUANGZHOU, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Local authorities in south China's Guangdong Province have captured 44 crocodiles on the loose after a rain-triggered flood cracked open a farm for the reptiles.

The escape happened on Monday morning after Typhoon Haikui unleashed torrential downpours and a deluge in the Beijieluo Village under the city of Maoming, causing two cracks in the enclosure of the crocodile farm, according to the city's publicity department.

The local government has since mobilized nearly 1,000 people into a round-the-clock search, including police, militia, firefighters and professional crocodile hunters.

As of 3 p.m. Thursday, 44 crocodiles had been caught, while the exact number of runaway crocodiles is unknown. The department said no crocodile attacks have been reported so far.

Seventy-one Siamese crocodiles, including two juveniles, lived on the farm before the enclosure damage. Authorities are still draining the pool to verify the number of remaining crocodiles.