BEIJING: Chinese authorities searched Monday for 12 crew members who disappeared after two cargo ships collided before dawn off the coast of southern Guangdong province, according to state media.
A ship carrying 5,000 tons of sand sank after the collision, the Guangzhou maritime search and rescue center said.
But the second ship carrying over 5,000 tons of steel managed to make it to shore, the state-run China National Radio reported.
Two crew members from the sunken ship and eleven sailors from the steel ship have been rescued, the Guangzhou center said.
The collision occurred at about 3:00 am on Monday near the Pearl River estuary.
Some 30 rescue ships, one helicopter and other ships that happened to be nearby were participating in search efforts.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the accident, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
12 missing after cargo ships collide off south China
12 missing after cargo ships collide off south China
Ethiopia begins $12.5 billion construction of ‘Africa’s biggest airport’
- The state-owned airline got the contract to design the four-runway airport in the town located around 45 km (28 miles) southeast of Addis Ababa
BISHOFTU: Ethiopian Airlines on Saturday officially started a $12.5 billion construction project for what officials say will be Africa’s biggest airport when completed in 2030 in the Ethiopian town of Bishoftu.
The state-owned airline got the contract to design the four-runway airport in the town located around 45 km (28 miles) southeast of Addis Ababa.
“Bishoftu International Airport will be the largest aviation infrastructure project in Africa’s history,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali said on X. The airport will have space to park 270 planes and capacity for 110 million passengers a year.
That is more than four times the capacity of Ethiopia’s current main airport, which will reach its limits on existing traffic in the next two-to-three years, Abiy said.
The airline’s Infrastructure Development & Planning Director Abraham Tesfaye told reporters it would fund 30 percent and lenders would finance the rest.
It has already allocated $610 million for earthworks, which are due to be completed in one year, he said at the site, with the main contractors scheduled to start work in August 2026.
The project was initially billed at $10 billion.
Other creditors include the African Development Bank, which last August said it would lend $500 million and lead efforts to raise $8.7 billion.
“Lenders from Middle East, Europe, China and USA have shown strong interest to finance the project,” Abraham said.
Ethiopian Airlines is Africa’s biggest carrier. It added six extra routes in 2024/25, while revenues are also expanding.
