Four fishermen who went missing Friday in the Beibu Gulf with the arrival of tropical storm Bebinca in south China’s Hainan Province have returned to port safely, local marine authorities said on Saturday.
The fishery administration of the city of Danzhou started searching for the fishermen Friday evening after a fishing boat was reported to have lost contact with the mainland.
The boat, which broke down 14 nautical miles away from Baimajing Port, resumed contact with the administration at 9 a.m. Saturday.
It returned to port at 3 pm.
An investigation into the incident is under way.
Bebinca made landfall in Tanmen Township in the city of Qionghai at 11:10 am, the local meteorological department said.
The tropical storm has brought strong rain to Hainan, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the South China Sea, with precipitation in Tanmen expected to reach 30 to 60 cm.
An emergency response system is in effect and rescue ships have been deployed to ensure safety in nearby waters.
Eighty-eight flights at the Sanya Phoenix International Airport have been affected by the storm. The cancellation of 42 of the flights has left more than 4,300 passengers stranded.
An unlicensed fishing ship was also found sunk off the coast near Qionghai Saturday morning. A fisherman who was aboard the ship has been rescued.
Train and shipping services across the Qiongzhou Strait have been suspended due to the arrival of the storm.
Passenger ferries have been ordered to dock at a port in Hainan, according to the maritime affairs bureau of Zhanjiang, a coastal city in south China’s Guangdong Province that is linked to Hainan by the strait.
2013 by The Global Times