CMG broadcast team all set for World Games curtain raiser

The China Media Group (CMG) is all set to deliver compelling coverage as the host broadcaster of the 12th World Games, which will open Thursday in southwest China's Chengdu.

The 11-day sporting event will feature over 250 events across 60 disciplines and 34 different sports, with 5,000 participants from more than 100 countries and regions taking part.

All eyes will be on Chengdu for Thursday night's grand opening ceremony, and the CMG's fleet of 4K/8K ultra-high-definition live broadcast vans, also known as the "Chinese red" trucks, have been positioned on site as they prepare for the key broadcasting tasks.

The convoy of trucks arrived at their operational location in Chengdu on July 25 after a four-day journey from Beijing, giving them nearly two weeks to prepare for the opening ceremony.

The fleet consists of four large vehicles: one 4K/8K UHD broadcast van, one audio support truck, one satellite uplink truck, and one auxiliary equipment truck.

Accompanying these vehicles is a 120-person broadcast team who have extensive experience in covering major sporting events in recent years.

"Our job is to produce the international signal for the opening and closing ceremonies. The entire team of 120 personnel are experienced, and have been tested through many major competitions like the Asian Games and the Olympics. We've also completed a series of rehearsals and practical training exercises," said Liang Bing, director of the CMG Sports and Youth Program Center.

CMG broadcast team all set for World Games curtain raiser

At least one person has died and several others have been hospitalized after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia’s Maluku Strait early on Thursday morning, with the quake also causing varying degrees of damage to multiple buildings in Manado, the capital city of the North Sulawesi province. The quake struck at 06:48 local time Thursday at a magnitude of 7.4 and a depth of 30 kilometers, according to measurements by the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

There were scenes of panic outside a hospital in Manado when the quake hit, with several seconds of intense shaking causing cracks to appear in the building of the medical facility which belongs to the Siloam private healthcare group.

Patients and medical staff were urgently evacuated to the roadside, with some seen in wheelchairs or still connected to intravenous (IV) drips, while others were even pushed out of the wards on their hospital beds. A car parked downstairs was hit by falling debris, shattering its windows.

"Some people were sleeping at the time, some had just undergone surgery, and others were receiving treatment. The earthquake damaged the hospital's ceiling, and I also saw some cracks in the walls," said Billy Lombok, the family member of a patient.

A tsunami warning was issued but later lifted following the quake as Indonesian authorities observed no significant sea level changes.

Patients rushed out from hospital building as 7.4-magnitude quake hits Indonesia, killing one