China's maritime rescue force conducts advanced drill in South China Sea

China's national maritime rescue force, the China Rescue and Salvage (CRS), conducted an advanced air and sea rescue drill in a South China Sea area off Haikou City of south China's Hainan Province on Wednesday.

The drill focused on two key scenarios which were the precise delivery of rescue personnel by helicopter, and the vertical rescue of personnel from a ship's deck.

In the vertical rescue scenario, a rescue helicopter must hover on a 15-meter safe distance above a simulated distressed vessel, as a rescuer was lowered via a winch system to land precisely on the deck.

After a rapid assessment of the "victim," the rescuer used a rescue harness to secure the banding of the "victim", and then the helicopter crew hoisted them to the safe place.

A rescue helicopter has an operational radius of 200 nautical miles (370.4 kilometers) and can rescue up to 20 people in a single operation. It is designed for a variety of scenarios, including rescuing individuals from fixed locations, ships at sea, and directly from the water.

The rescue drill is part of a maritime culture and salvage campaign which runs from March to June with both online and offline demonstrations in China's eastern, northern and southern maritime regions.

The CRS, which is under the command of the Ministry of Transport, is China's professional force for maritime rescue and salvage operations. So far, it has been maintaining a 24/7 state of readiness, with specialized rescue vessels, helicopters, and emergency response teams strategically deployed in key areas of the South China Sea, including waters of the eastern Guangdong Province, the Pearl River Estuary, the Qiongzhou Strait, and the Xisha and Nansha Islands.

In 2024, the CRS conducted 244 rescue operations in the sea areas of south China, successfully rescuing 895 people and recovering property valued at approximately 3.3 billion yuan (about 456.6 million U.S. dollars).

By the end of 2025, the CRS will built itself into a modern and professional salvage system that will be comprehensive and all-weather operational, covering both seas and rivers, featuring rapid response and high efficiency. And its efficiency and disposal effect of emergency rescue and salvage operations will reach the world's advanced levels, according to the CRS.

China's maritime rescue force conducts advanced drill in South China Sea

The torch relay for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games began on Saturday morning in Rome, marking the start of a two-month journey ahead of next year's opening ceremony.

The launch ceremony was held at the Stadio dei Marmi, an open-air arena lined with Roman-style statues next to Rome's Olympic Stadium.

At around 09:50, Giancarlo Peris, the final torchbearer of the 1960 Rome Games, brought the flame onto the launch stage. A torch was lit with the flame, and Giovanni Malago, president of the Milan-Cortina 2026 organizing committee, lit the cauldron with it.

The first torchbearer, Italy's Olympic champion Gregorio Paltrinieri, lit the relay torch from the cauldron and then ran a half-lap around the stadium to cheers from spectators, officially starting the relay.

Italian fencer Elisa Di Francisca and high jump Olympic champion Gianmarco Tamberi followed as the second and third torchbearers and completed their relay segments inside the stadium. Tamberi performed a torch kiss with the next runner, Achille Polonara, who carried the flame out of the stadium to begin the route through the city.

The relay will traverse 12,000 kilometers over 60 days across Italy, pass through more than 300 municipalities and feature celebrations in 60 cities, reach all 110 Italian provinces, and light up UNESCO sites along the route.

More than 10,000 torchbearers from all walks of life will take part in the relay, including figures from sectors of sports, culture, film and civil society.

The flame will see Christmas in Naples, New Year in Bari, and return to Cortina d'Ampezzo on January 26, 2026, the 70th anniversary of the 1956 Winter Games opening ceremony. The relay will conclude on February 6 at Milan's San Siro Stadium.

Andrea Varnier, CEO of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games' organizing committee, said the torch relay will strengthen the spirit of peace and hope for humanity.

"ur torch will pass through all cultural heritage sites. So along the way, we'll see both our nation's historical landmarks as well as natural landscapes. But what matters most are the people who embrace the torch as a symbol of peace and hope. Athletes and ordinary citizens carrying the Winter Olympics torch will carry the spirit all the way to Milan," he said.

Torch relay for Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games starts in Rome