Stranded sailors returning home
Source: Xinhua |
October 15, 2011, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINESE sailors stranded in northern Thailand after two cargo ships were attacked last week were on their way home yesterday.
The Chinese government has sent a team from southwest China's Yunnan Province to Chiang Saen to handle the aftermath of the October 5 attack on the Chinese ships on the Mekong River.
Of the 13 Chinese sailors aboard the Hua Ping and Yu Xing 8, 12 were killed and another is missing after an unknown group of armed men hijacked the vessels.
Yesterday, 164 Chinese sailors and 28 cargo ships stranded at the Chiang Saen port since the incident set out for home at 6am escorted by Chinese patrol vessels. Thai police speedboats were also seen guarding the Chinese ships.
The sailors had been living on their ships on the Mekong River in Chiang Saen since the attack.
Also on their way home were 29 relatives of the dead sailors who had earlier taken part in a memorial service for their loved ones.
The family members arrived from Yunnan Province at around 6pm on Thursday after traveling for more than 10 hours.
They had declined a dinner arranged by Chinese officials to begin the memorial service as soon as they could.
They wept when they saw the two ships moored nearby and some fainted in their grief.
"How can you leave me like this? I'm lonely without you," sobbed the wife of Cai Fanghua, a sailor on the Hua Ping.
Family members unrolled a banner at the site reading: "Find out the truth, punish the killers."
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Weimin said earlier that Thailand had promised to fully cooperate with China and do its utmost to ensure safety on the Mekong River to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
On Thursday, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Song Tao summoned diplomatic envoys from Thailand, Laos and Myanmar and urged the three countries to intensify their investigations into the deadly attack.
Song said all the three countries should endeavor to "unearth the truth" as quickly as possible and provide China with timely reports.
The Chinese government has sent a team from southwest China's Yunnan Province to Chiang Saen to handle the aftermath of the October 5 attack on the Chinese ships on the Mekong River.
Of the 13 Chinese sailors aboard the Hua Ping and Yu Xing 8, 12 were killed and another is missing after an unknown group of armed men hijacked the vessels.
Yesterday, 164 Chinese sailors and 28 cargo ships stranded at the Chiang Saen port since the incident set out for home at 6am escorted by Chinese patrol vessels. Thai police speedboats were also seen guarding the Chinese ships.
The sailors had been living on their ships on the Mekong River in Chiang Saen since the attack.
Also on their way home were 29 relatives of the dead sailors who had earlier taken part in a memorial service for their loved ones.
The family members arrived from Yunnan Province at around 6pm on Thursday after traveling for more than 10 hours.
They had declined a dinner arranged by Chinese officials to begin the memorial service as soon as they could.
They wept when they saw the two ships moored nearby and some fainted in their grief.
"How can you leave me like this? I'm lonely without you," sobbed the wife of Cai Fanghua, a sailor on the Hua Ping.
Family members unrolled a banner at the site reading: "Find out the truth, punish the killers."
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Weimin said earlier that Thailand had promised to fully cooperate with China and do its utmost to ensure safety on the Mekong River to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
On Thursday, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Song Tao summoned diplomatic envoys from Thailand, Laos and Myanmar and urged the three countries to intensify their investigations into the deadly attack.
Song said all the three countries should endeavor to "unearth the truth" as quickly as possible and provide China with timely reports.
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