Two hikers die crossing river

Two hikers died trying to cross a swollen river during a severe thunderstorm in central Taiwan, officials said yesterday. The climbers, whose bodies were found on Sunday, were hiking with a group of six friends in a mountainous area in Nantou County, the county's fire department said. A raging river trapped three of the group on Saturday, but one person was able to get away and reached authorities. Hikers in central Taiwan are sometimes caught off guard by flash floods during typhoon season.