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.
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12 missing after cargo ships collide off south China
12 missing after cargo ships collide off south China
Australia to ban citizen from returning to country under rarely-used terror laws
- They were briefly freed on Monday before being turned back by Damascus for holding inadequate paperwork
SYDNEY: Australia said on Wednesday it would temporarily ban one of its citizens held in a Syrian camp from returning to the country, under rarely-used powers aimed at preventing terror activity.
Thirty-four Australians in a northern Syrian facility holding families of suspected Daesh militants are expected to return home after their release was conditionally approved by camp authorities.
They were briefly freed on Monday before being turned back by Damascus for holding inadequate paperwork.
Australia has already said it would not provide any assistance to those held in the camp, and is investigating whether any individuals posed a threat to national security.
“I can confirm that one individual in this cohort has been issued a temporary exclusion order, which was made on advice from security agencies,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement on Wednesday.
Security agencies have not yet advised that other members of the group meet the legal threshold for a similar ban, he added.
Introduced in 2019, the legislation allows for bans of up to two years for Australian citizens over the age of 14 that the government believes are a security risk.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday some members of the cohort, that includes children, had aligned themselves with a “brutal, reactionary ideology and that seeks to undermine and destroy our way of life.”
“It’s unfortunate that children are caught up in this, that’s not their decision, but it’s the decision of their parents or their mother,” he added.
News of the families’ possible return has caused controversy in Australia, where support for the right-wing, anti-immigration One Nation party has surged in recent months.
A poll this week found One Nation’s share of the popular vote at a record high of 26 percent, above the combined support for the traditional center-right coalition currently in opposition.
Thirty-four Australians in a northern Syrian facility holding families of suspected Daesh militants are expected to return home after their release was conditionally approved by camp authorities.
They were briefly freed on Monday before being turned back by Damascus for holding inadequate paperwork.
Australia has already said it would not provide any assistance to those held in the camp, and is investigating whether any individuals posed a threat to national security.
“I can confirm that one individual in this cohort has been issued a temporary exclusion order, which was made on advice from security agencies,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement on Wednesday.
Security agencies have not yet advised that other members of the group meet the legal threshold for a similar ban, he added.
Introduced in 2019, the legislation allows for bans of up to two years for Australian citizens over the age of 14 that the government believes are a security risk.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday some members of the cohort, that includes children, had aligned themselves with a “brutal, reactionary ideology and that seeks to undermine and destroy our way of life.”
“It’s unfortunate that children are caught up in this, that’s not their decision, but it’s the decision of their parents or their mother,” he added.
News of the families’ possible return has caused controversy in Australia, where support for the right-wing, anti-immigration One Nation party has surged in recent months.
A poll this week found One Nation’s share of the popular vote at a record high of 26 percent, above the combined support for the traditional center-right coalition currently in opposition.
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