Off the wire
Mongolia's new government seeks stronger relations with China  • Mongolia fully prepared for ASEM summit  • Singapore's Lee greets Theresa May on becoming British PM  • Urgent: Chinese FM reiterates China's stance on South China Sea arbitration  • Russia urges to solve S. China Sea dispute by consultations  • Chinese tourists key to strong performance of Australian visitor economy  • China remains top trade partner for EU among ASEM in 2015  • EU widens antitrust probe to include Google ad service  • Dealers to recall 1,479 Porsche in China  • Chinese courts told to better handle petitions  
You are here:   Home

Emergency drill held in South China Sea

Xinhua, July 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

An emergency drill involving 13 ships and a helicopter was held Thursday morning at seas near Sansha in southern China's island province of Hainan, the city's marine bureau said.

It is the first comprehensive emergency drill on such large scale after Sansha was established in 2012. The drill included air-sea search and rescue, emergency treatment and sea fire-fighting.

Two cargo ships "collided" near Sansha and left seven mariners missing. Fire broke out on one of the ships, threatening the lives of eight other sailors onboard.

Upon receiving the SOS, the city's maritime search and rescue center initiated an emergency plan, dispatching cruise, salvage and coast guard ships near the area to search for the missing sailors and put out the fire.

Over 200 people from 10 departments participated in the drill. The seven mariners were saved and the fire extinguished, according to the bureau.

The maritime search and rescue center in Sansha was established in July, 2013, and has since rescued 1,201 people in 49 emergencies.

According to deputy mayor Chen Rumao, the city plans to normalize such emergency drills and expand their area into Nansha waters. Endi