Gold Worth Over ₹12 Crore Washed Away In China Flood Viral Video Shows Locals Digging For It

(MENAFN- Live Mint) A flash flood in China's Shaanxi province cost a jewellery shop in Wuqi County too much. The owner said nearly 20 kilograms of gold and silver jewellery had been washed away.

But the real chaos broke out when the street people, shop staff, and residents of the area poured onto the streets to look for the missing jewellery .

The incident, reportedly from July 25, occurred at a jewellery store named Laofengxiang. According to local news portal The Standard, the store was hit by the flash flood just as staff arrived to open for the day.

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The owner, Ye, said his staff had stayed overnight to keep watch and had not moved the jewellery into the safes.

When flood warnings were issued that morning, all inventory was still out on display. Within minutes, water surged through the front entrance and rose to over one meter.

The powerful current burst through the shop and swept away display cabinets and trays filled with jewellery.

The store's CCTV system was down and failed to record the incident due to power outages during the flooding.

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Ye shared that the missing items included gold necklaces, bangles, rings, earrings, pendants, diamond rings, jade pieces and silver ornaments.

The store's safe, which contained new inventory, recycled gold and a large amount of cash, was also missing.

Based on current market prices, the total value of the washed-away items is estimated to exceed 10 million yuan (approximately ₹12 crore).

The search

Ye's son, Xiaoye, told The Standard that the family and shop staff spent two days searching the area after the flood and recovered around one kilogram of jewellery.

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Once the news spread, residents also rushed to the area in hopes of finding lost items. Some residents voluntarily returned items they found to the shop.

Photos and videos of people combing through the mud to search for the missing jewellery have gone viral on social media. Some people reportedly even used metal detectors in a thorough search.

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Since the CCTV wasn't working at the time, it has become increasingly difficult for Ye to track how the valuables were swept away or who might have picked them up.

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