Twelve heavy vessels, which broke their moorings and were swept down a turbulent river in floods Saturday in northeast China's Jilin Province, have all been halted as of 5:40 p.m. Saturday, local authorities said.

Many boats and 300 soldiers were mobilized Saturday noon to stop the vessels before they could pose any possible threat to the Fengman Hydropower Plant dam on the Songhua River, Jilin City police said.

The vessels had been swept into the Songhua River from a tributary in Huadian, Jilin City. The vessels are used for river gold mining, with the heaviest one weighing nine tonnes.

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