Flooding killed 31 residents at a care home for elderly people on the outskirts of Beijing this week, local officials have said. Footage showed emergency teams wading through chest-high water trying to rescue those trapped in the home in the Miyun District.

China said on Thursday a total of 44 people were killed and nine unaccounted for following heavy rains that have soaked large parts of the capital

Officials in Beijing have launched all-out disaster relief and rescue operations in the last four days after a fresh spell of intense rainstorms damaged roads, disrupted power supply, and prompted mass evacuations.