Eighteen crew and 100 passengers have been rescued early on
Thursday from a ship drifting in strong winds and high seas after
its engines failed in the South China Sea.
Local rescue officials said the accident occurred at 9:00 PM on
Wednesday while it was approaching Weizhou Port, in south China's
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The engines lost power about 7.4 kilometers offshore, putting
the safety of those on board at risk in the rough conditions, the
official said.
Rescue vessels took three hours to tow the 359-ton vessel -- 47
meters long and seven meters wide -- to a safe area, where the
passengers and crew could be evacuated.
Rescuers with the Nanhai bureau of the Ministry of
Communications, based in neighboring Guangdong Province, handled 253 marine
accidents caused by rough weather in the South China Sea in 2006,
saving 2,032 people.
(Xinhua News Agency February 1, 2007)