Rafters Navigate Tiger Leap Gorge on Yangtze

Two Chinese rafters have successfully navigated the Tiger Leap Gorge on the Yangtze River, which the New China News Agency described as the most dangerous rapids in the world.

The agency reported today that two workers from the central Chinese city of Luoyang were the first people in an unpowered boat to pass through the 1.5-mile-long gorge in the southwest province of Yunnan.

At least one person has died in an attempts to run the rapids this year. But the rafters from Luoyang said last week they would be ashamed to face the people of China again if they did not make another effort to navigate the rapids.

Earlier this month, a Sino-American team attempting to cover the entire 4,000-mile length of the Yangtze gave up after one of the American team members died of pneumonia.