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Chinese boy, 9, missing after being swept away by wave as Typhoon Dolphin approached coast
Rescuers still searching for child, who was taken across a causeway by two adults in Zhejiang when a typhoon warning was already in place
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William ZhengPublished: 7:47pm, 9 Aug 2026Updated: 7:53pm, 9 Aug 2026
Rescuers continued searching on Sunday for a nine-year-old boy who has been missing since he was swept away by a giant wave in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang.
The incident, in the coastal town of Shitang, happened on Friday afternoon – a time when a typhoon warning was already in place as Typhoon Dolphin headed towards the province.
Local officials warned that high tides, rapid currents and dangerous whirlpools had made the search efforts very difficult, according to media reports.
Video footage of the moment the boy was washed out to sea has been widely circulating on Chinese social media platforms.
It showed two adults and two children frantically sprinting across a stone and cement causeway connecting the mainland to a rocky island.
As the group reached the middle of the exposed walkway, a colossal wave several metres tall smashed over the path, knocking all four to the ground.
When the surge receded, only three managed to scramble to their feet while the boy could not hold on to anything and disappeared with the waves.
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