Shanxi

Experts to probe reservoir collapse

A team of experts has been assembled to investigate the cause of last week's reservoir dam collapse in Shanxi province, the reconstruction headquarters announced on Monday. Leading experts nationwide have been invited to join the team. The cave-in of an irrigation tunnel of the Quting Reservoir in Hongtong county on Friday morning led to the collapse of a 100-meter-long stretch of the dam. Local authorities have allocated 4 million yuan ($640,800) to aid residents affected by the collapse, the headquarters said.

Guangdong

City subsidizes sea burials

The family members of any person with a Guangzhou household registration who dies after Jan 1 and is willing to be buried at sea will receive 1,000 yuan ($161) from the city's civil affairs bureau, said the government of Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, on Sunday. The sea burial will also be free. The city government said the move aims to deepen the reform of funeral procedures, save land and change social traditions.

Liaoning

Program to help lost seniors

Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, is promoting a campaign to encourage seniors aged 70 and older to wear a yellow wrist strap to help identify them if they become lost. The silicone strap has a unique serial number related to the wearer's personal information on file with police. The information includes telephone numbers and the family address. Local authorities believe this may help lost seniors return home.

Shaanxi

Travel a no-no during work hours

Two officials in Zhenba county, Shaanxi province, have been warned about traveling on workdays, Xi'an Evening News reported on Monday. An online post recently revealed that the staff of the county's water conservancy bureau traveled to Hainan province from Jan 2 to 7 when they should have been working. Investigations by the county's Party discipline watchdog found 27 employees of the bureau took part in the trip.

Xinjiang

406 evacuated in blizzard

Rescuers evacuated 406 passengers to safety after they became trapped in a blizzard in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, a local official said on Monday. The passengers and the 68 vehicles they rode in were left stranded in Tacheng prefecture by the blizzard, which had maximum winds of 90 km per hour on Sunday, said Li Jiancheng, an official with the Tacheng Highways Bureau. It took rescuers 13 hours to evacuate the trapped people and move their vehicles to safe areas early on Monday, said Li.

Yunnan

63 sentenced over pyramid scheme

Sixty-three people involved in a pyramid scheme in Yunnan province have been sentenced to jail terms ranging from one year to 42 months. Chenggong district court in Kunming announced on Sunday that it ruled the 63 people, 51 of whom have been held in custody and 12 bailed pending a final trial, are guilty of organizing a pyramid scheme in Kunming. Forty of the fraudsters have been given suspended sentences, said the court.

13 arrested for drug trafficking

Police in Southwest China's Yunnan province have arrested 13 suspected drug traffickers and confiscated more than 34 kg of drugs, local authorities said on Monday. Four suspects were caught on Feb 12 handling 32.296 kg of heroin and 39 grams of methamphetamine in Bai autonomous prefecture of Dali, local police said, adding that two motorcycles were also confiscated. The police later arrested a major suspect at his house in Xichang of Sichuan province.

Hunan

Two killedin hotel fight

Two people died and another was injured during a fight at a hotel in Hunan province, police said on Monday. The fight broke out at about 8 pm on Sunday in a tea bar of the Fulihua Hotel in Changsha, the provincial capital of Hunan, local police said. Witnesses said knives were used in the altercation. Changsha Public Security Bureau said police have detained four suspects.

Guizhou

5 buriedin landslide

An investigation has found five people, including two children, were buried in a landslide that hit Guizhou province on Monday morning. An electrician at a neighboring coal mine is among those buried, rescuers said. The landslide happened around 11 am in Longchang township in the city of Kaili, burying six work sheds. Rescuers have rushed to the scene.

Anhui

Five missingin boat accident

Five people remain missing two days after a boat capsized in eastern China's Anhui province, authorities said on Monday. Five crew members were aboard the boat when it capsized around 6:30 am on Saturday near Tongling Dock on the Yangtze River, according to local maritime authorities. Rescuers are continuing to search for the missing people.

Heilongjiang

Plane lands after engine cover falls

A flight that took off from Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, was forced to make a return voyage and an emergency landing after the outer cover of an engine of the aircraft dropped in mid-flight, China News Service reported. The Guangzhou-bound China Southern Airlines flight, which took off the from Harbin Taiping International Airport at 8:29 am on Monday, made an emergency landing at the airport two hours later, the report quoted airline employees as saying.

China Daily-Xnhua

(China Daily 02/19/2013 page2)