ALL people in distress from a ship collision accident were rescued during an emergency drill held at Shekou Cruise Homeport on Wednesday afternoon. The drill started at about 2:30 p.m. when the Wan Qu Er Hao (Greater Bay Area No. 2) cruise ship “collided” with a fishing boat, causing two people on the boat falling in water. After receiving a report, the rescue center soon dispatched a patrol vessel and a helicopter to the scene of the accident. However, the collision area of the cruise ship “caught fire” right after two people were rescued to the ship. Unable to put out the fire in the ship with the help of a firefighting vessel, the captain immediately organized passengers and crew members to evacuate from the ship by the Xunlong Yihao and a life raft. More than 60 people in distress were finally transferred to a lifeboat. It was the first time that a cruise ship was involved in a drill at a Shenzhen port. Jointly held by the Shekou Maritime Bureau, the Nanshan Transport Bureau, the Nanshan Emergency Management Bureau and the South China Sea Rescue Bureau, the exercise featured on-the-sea collisions, personnel falling into the sea, fires, evacuation and rescue operations, among others. The drill aimed to test emergency response capabilities by sea, air and land of the city’s western port area.? (SD News) | 