Navy opens warships to public for its 76th birthday

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy will open over 30 of its active warships to the public across a dozen coastal cities to mark its 76th anniversary on Wednesday. This will offer people rare glimpses into the country's maritime defense capabilities.

At the Port Terminal 3 in Qingdao City, east China’s Shandong Province, five vessels including missile destroyers, frigates, and comprehensive supply ship Kekexilihu (Hull 903) are scheduled to receive visitors from Wednesday to Sunday.

The 20,000-ton supply ship, capable of simultaneous multi-point replenishment at sea, has completed two anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden and escorted over 20 groups of Chinese and foreign vessels.

"This opening event marks our vessel's fourth mission to open to the public on such an occasion. Our long-awaiting helicopter will also meet the people. Let's wait and see," said crew member Mu Lecao.

The Rizhao frigate, a versatile combatant participating in the 42nd naval escort mission and multinational exercises, will also receive visitors aboard. Since it was commissioned in January 2018, the Rizhao has proven its dual capabilities in air defense and precision strike in international exercises.

"Following last year's homeport opening in Rizhao City (in Shandong Province), this is our second time to open to the public. Visitors aboard could see our flight deck and hangar, and have a close contact with our missile vertical launch systems and main guns. For the first time, we're also to open our crew quarters. Aside from going around the ship, visitors can also try naval firefighting gear on dock," said Li Zimu, crew member of Frigate Rizhao.

The Tangshan, a domestically-built Type 052D missile destroyer equipped with advanced weapon systems, also gears up for the event.

"Our crew members are now training on semaphore signaling for the demonstrations after the opening event starts. Interested visitors can also have interactive experience. The ship will be fully dressed with colors and lights throughout the event. Tours include insights into sailors' daily training and detailed explanations of our naval vessels and primary weapon equipment," said crew member Jiang Ting of the Tangshan vessel.

The annual event aims to present China's naval modernization achievements while strengthening public understanding of maritime defense.

Navy opens warships to public for its 76th birthday

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight