Red Sea shipwreck survivor recalls moments of horror

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠A Chinese survivor from a shipwreck in Egypt's Red Sea waters has recalled his moments of horror aboard the cruise ship following the accident, in which the cruise ship carrying some 44 people sank off the northern area of Egypt's Red Sea resort of Marsa Alam.

Up to date, a total of 33 survivors, including two Chinese tourists, have been rescued from the accident, according to the governor of the Red Sea Province.

Authorities say that four bodies have been recovered, and another seven people are still missing.

The search and rescue work is still underway.

Early on Wednesday, the Egyptian government sent the previously rescued people to Hurghada of the Red Sea Province. Most of them would embark on their journey back home from the place.

"It happened early on Monday morning, at around 03:00. I was already asleep then when the ship rocked violently several times. It should have caused the hull to roll over. After the ship rolled over, the hatch was above my head. But it's also difficult for me to reach the hatch. A ship crew member then opened the door for me," said one of the two Chinese survivors.

The survivor said that when they struggled to escape to the deck, the sea was still very rough. 

Along with other passengers, he boarded a lifeboat, and they were finally successfully rescued after waiting for about 10 hours floating on the sea.

"It should be around 14:00. A boat for search and rescue found us and took us to another big ship. People including the crew members and passengers on the big ship gave us their clothes. They also helped us to contact the Chinese embassy and relatives of our own," he said.

"The embassy attaches great importance to the incident after it occurred. Chinese Ambassador Liao Liqiang immediately deployed personnel and activated the consular protection emergency response mechanism, learning about and verifying the situation through multiple ways such as the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defense of Egypt, and provide them with all kinds of assistance to the best of our abilities," said Gu Ziang, a staff member with the Chinese embassy in Egypt.

Red Sea shipwreck survivor recalls moments of horror

China-US military-to-military relationship should truly serve as a cornerstone for stability in overall relations of the two major countries, a Chinese defense ministry spokesman said in Beijing on Thursday.

Wu Qian, the spokesman, made the remarks in response to a media query about China's views on the future of the China-US military relationship, following the meeting between President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden in Lima.

"President Xi points out that China and the US will gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. Despite all the ups and downs in the China-US relations over the past several years, the two militaries maintained some dialogues and cooperation and kept a generally stable relationship. As two major countries in the world, China and the US should bear in mind the greater good, and inject more certainty and positive energy into a turbulent world. We hope the US side can work with us towards a same direction, take a positive and rational view of the growth of China and the Chinese military, and prioritize peace, stability and credibility as the basic principles of mil-mil engagement. On the basis of equality and respect, the two sides should build a mil-to-mil relationship featuring non-conflict and non-confrontation, open and substantive cooperation and gradual accumulation of mutual trust, so as to truly serve as a cornerstone for stability in the overall China-US relations," said Wu.  

China-US military relationship should serve as cornerstone for stability in overall relations: spokesman