China begins draining the swollen quake lake
Updated
China has started draining water from a dangerously swollen "quake lake".
Xinhua news agency reports water poured through a hurriedly-dug drainage channel, releasing pressure from the lake which had built up behind a dam caused by the huge earthquake.
Up to 1.3 million people were in danger of being flooded had the unstable lake burst its banks.
The channel dug by soldiers and police will allow some 220 million cubic metres of water to empty downstream.
