Boy swept to sea in East China as Typhoon Dolphin nears - Dimsum Daily
9th August 2026 – (Wenling) A nine-year-old boy was swept into the sea by a giant wave as Typhoon Dolphin neared East China, after a tourist family of four walked a seawall at Shitang in Wenling, Zhejiang, on 7th August 2026. The storm, the 13th named typhoon of the year, was forecast to make landfall […]
9th August 2026 – (Wenling) A nine-year-old boy was swept into the sea by a giant wave as Typhoon Dolphin neared East China, after a tourist family of four walked a seawall at Shitang in Wenling, Zhejiang, on 7th August 2026. The storm, the 13th named typhoon of the year, was forecast to make landfall as early as the evening of 9th August along the coast from Zhoushan in Zhejiang to Fuding in Fujian. Strong winds and surging seas had already hit the Shitang shoreline when the family was caught on the embankment. Online video appears to show two adults and two children on the seawall when a wave suddenly covers them; when it retreats, only three remain. Soaked and searching without success, they are urged from off-camera to hurry back because it is dangerous and not to go down, while a woman shouts that a child is missing and crying follows. Another voice asks if it is her son and scolds the adults for carelessness. Many online viewers blamed the family for heading to the coast in such weather. Local emergency rescuers said those involved were not Wenling residents but out-of-town tourists who had slipped past road controls put up in advance. The incident was around 3pm, after Shitang Town had already blocked routes to the seaside. A veteran fisherman among the rescue crew said dodging breakers takes skill that outsiders often lack; besides the family of four, about 10 other tourists who had also sneaked onto the island were stranded, with waves nearly overturning a fire engine before crews boated through the swell to bring the 10 back ashore. Shitang Town staff said typhoon-driven high tide left the embankment with high waves, strong currents and whirlpools, and the area had been cordoned off. Search and rescue for the boy was still under way. On the morning of 8th August, the Wenling municipal government issued an urgent notice telling residents not to go out unless necessary during the typhoon and forbidding trips to the seaside or embankments to watch the tide or take photographs.