Fourteen crew members were pulled from churning seas in a dramatic air-sea rescue captured on video Monday, after a cargo ship loaded with steel foundered and sank off east China's Jiangsu Province amid a severe cold wave.
The vessel issued a distress signal on Monday morning roughly 20 nautical miles northeast of Binhai Port in Yancheng City, after high winds and heavy waves flooded two of its starboard compartments, leaving it listing severely and in imminent danger of capsizing.
Upon receiving the alert, the Donghai Rescue Bureau, the Ministry of Transport agency responsible for maritime rescue operations off China's eastern coast, dispatched a rescue vessel and two helicopters to the scene.
Rescuers faced harsh conditions, with gale-force winds and four-meter-high waves. As the operation unfolded, the stricken ship continued to tilt before ultimately sinking, plunging eight of the crew into the water.
Coordinating closely, the helicopters and the rescue vessel raced against time to search the area, eventually bringing all 14 crew members to safety.
14 rescued after cargo ship sinks off east China coast
China's top legislator Zhao Leji met with a multi-party delegation from Colombia led by Nicolás Antonio Barguil Cubillos, president of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia, on Tuesday in Beijing.
Zhao, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said China is willing to maintain high-level exchanges with Colombia, enhance mutual understanding and trust, and continue firm mutual support on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns.
China is ready to strengthen exchanges between political parties and legislative bodies, and expand pragmatic cooperation in areas such as jointly building the Belt and Road, Zhao added.
Voicing appreciation for China offering assistance after an earthquake in Colombia, Barguil said better understanding China and enhancing cooperation with China is a shared goal that transcends partisan differences in Colombia.
Colombia firmly supports the one-China principle, Barguil said, adding that the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia is ready to strengthen exchanges with China's NPC to promote the development of bilateral relations.
China's top legislator meets multi-party delegation from Colombia
