The Dragon Boat Festival 3-day “small long holiday” started on May 31st in mainland China, and accidents occurred during the festival celebrations across the country. In Jinan, Shandong Province, at the Daming Lake scenic area, a dragon boat capsized just after the race began. In another incident, a Southern Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing 15 minutes after takeoff, with the cabin filling with thick smoke.
On May 31st, the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, the dragon boat race kicked off at the Daming Lake scenic area in Jinan, Shandong Province. Around 9:39 am, two dragon boats set off to compete.
However, shortly after the race began, calls of “a dragon boat has capsized” came from the crowd of spectators, with some expressing disappointment that the race had ended so quickly.
According to reports, at the scene, it was the trailing dragon boat that capsized, but the crew members were all wearing life jackets.
All the crew members who fell into the water were rescued and no one was injured.
Some witnesses at the scene claimed that the team whose boat capsized seemed a bit unstable when they were getting into position, and later two kayaks helped to stabilize them, but to no avail as the boat capsized just after starting.
A popular saying goes, “The boat of friendship stubbornly reaches the finish line, while the boat of competition flips at the slightest challenge.”
According to official information from China Southern Airlines, on May 31st, flight CZ6850 from Hangzhou to Shenzhen had an incident where a passenger’s camera battery and power bank (commonly known as a charging treasure on the mainland) started emitting smoke. The crew immediately decided to return, and the flight landed safely after 15 minutes of takeoff.
Video footage shared by netizens showed thick smoke filling the cabin, with flight attendants initially trying to calm down passengers and asking them to remain seated, but many passengers were concerned about the smoke. Some passengers stood up to help the flight attendants identify the source of the smoke.
According to the flight booking app, the flight CZ6850 took off from Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport at 10:15 am on May 31st, but returned and landed back at the same airport at 10:38 am. The app stated that the planned departure time for the flight was to be determined.
A customer service representative from Southern Airlines stated that the rescheduled departure time for CZ6850 after the return was set for 12:30 pm, with the actual time subject to change. The flight being operated was an Airbus A320, as shown by the flight booking app.
On the same day, an employee from the Zhejiang airport police mentioned that the authorities are investigating the incident. It is noteworthy that due to the frequent occurrence of power bank fire incidents on passenger flights, several airlines from different countries and regions have banned the use of power banks on board.