China declares dam crisis over

China has declared the crisis over an overflowing dam is over after the lake's level dropped rapidly.

Xinhua said more than half of the water had been drained, establishing a balance between inflow and outflow and easing pressure on the dam.

More than 250,000 people downstream from the dam in the Sichuan region have already been moved to high ground, but a total of about 1.3 million people live in the danger zone.

For days, Chinese troops have been using dynamite and anti-tank weapons to blast boulders and other obstacles in a man-made diversion canal, trying to speed the flow of water and relieve pressure on the lake’s unstable mud and rock banks.