At least 12 persons have died while 14 others remain missing in two shipwrecks that took place off the coast of East China on Sunday night and Monday morning, Chinese maritime authorities revealed.
On Tuesday, rescuers retrieved two more bodies amidst heavy winds and big waves brought by a new cold front, bringing the death toll to 12, the Shandong Maritime Safety Administration announced.
Authorities said search and rescue operations have been hampered Tuesday night as rescuers on boats and in helicopters claimed their efforts were blocked by the turbulent seas. The administration, however, said rescuers will work non-stop to rescue those who remained missing.
The shipwrecks took place six hours apart, the administration said.
Zhejiang Province-registered cargo vessel "Xinglongzhour65" first sank off the waters of Yantai City around 9 pm on Sunday, resulting to the confirmed death of three crew members.
Nine others who were onboard the ill-fated cargo vessel remained missing as of press time Tuesday.
Authorities said the vessel was carrying stone cargoes when it lost contact with marine authorities. Initial investigation showed the ship lost power, resulting to communication failure
At 2:58 am on Monday, Tianjin-registered cargo vessel "Zihaishun" sank off the waters of Weihai City, killing nine crew members. Five people onboard the said vessel remained missing.
The identities of the fatalities and the missing crew members have not been made public yet.
As this developed, a total of 7,600 passengers were stranded after at least 128 flights were delayed or cancelled due to heavy fog hovering over northwest China's Urumqi International Airport today.
Officials said several flights were cancelled or delayed as visibility fell under 100 meters on airport runways.
Some 90 flights were delayed while 38 were canceled, prompting the airport to issue an emergency response. Meteorologists forecasted that the heavy fog would last until 8 pm Tuesday (China time).