A cargo vessel loaded with batteries sank after running aground
in the shallow waters of the Xijiang River in southwest China's
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Wednesday.
No casualties occurred despite a heavy loss of goods, reported
rescuers.
The vessel, carrying 14,560 boxes of batteries, was en route
from Wuzhou City, Guangxi, to Guangzhou, capital of south China's
Guangdong Province via the waterway, the largest tributary to
the Pearl River.
Rescuers deployed by the Maritime Rescue Center based in Wuzhou
salvaged about a tenth of the goods from the sinking vessel, which
belonged to the Wuzhou Water Transportation Company. The accident
cost the company 2 million yuan (US$250,000).
Due to a lingering drought, the water level of the Xijiang River
dropped to 1.96 meters on Wednesday, only 18 centimetres higher
than its lowest ever mark. This has caused a bottleneck of water
traffic from the landlocked southwest China region to the coastal
province of Guangdong.
(Xinhua News Agency February 9, 2006)
