During and around the Dragon Boat Festival, there have been multiple dragon boat capsizing accidents resulting in fatalities in various parts of mainland China. The latest update reports that in Yingtan, Jiangxi, a dragon boat capsized, leading to 1 death and 2 missing persons.
On June 12, CCTV News announced that on the 11th, an incident of a dragon boat capsizing occurred in Yingtan, Jiangxi, resulting in 1 fatality and 2 people going missing.
Details of the incident were not disclosed in the related reports, and it was also not specified whether the incident was related to the Dragon Boat Festival activity. It was not clear why such accidents continue to happen even after the festival has passed.
Dragon Boat Festival was observed on June 10, and preceding the festival, on the 5th and 8th, accidents of dragon boats capsizing happened consecutively in Xiushan County, Chongqing, and Huangmei County, Huanggang City, Hubei, causing a total of 4 deaths and several injuries.
Notably, the incident in Xiushan County involved a women’s dragon boat team that capsized during training for the 12th Yuxiangqian Provincial Dragon Boat Invitational Tournament. In Huangmei County, Hubei, during a dragon boat race, a boat lost control, capsized, and overturned.
In addition to these three incidents, in Zigui, Yichang, Hubei, one of the birthplaces of dragon boat racing and the hometown of Qu Yuan, there was also a capsizing incident during a dragon boat competition this year, fortunately without any casualties.
According to a report by “Jiu Pai News” on the 10th, a competition was held in the morning in Zigui, Yichang, with a total of 16 teams competing.
After the starting signal, the first few groups successfully completed the race, but one team, Huangshi Dragon Boat Team, accidentally capsized shortly after setting off. The team captain mentioned that the boat’s direction was off and tilted at the start, in their eagerness to catch up with other teams, they pushed too hard, causing the boat to capsize. Fortunately, all crew members were rescued after the capsizing.