Power supplies were restored on Sunday on Haiyang Island,
located between China's Yellow and Bohai Seas, 89 hours after parts
of a submarine cable were damaged by fishing trawlers, leaving the
island in total darkness.
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Technicians from Liaoning
Province, northeast China, and Haiyang Island, found 13 damaged
parts of the submarine cable in the Yellow Sea by 11:35 AM Sunday
and repaired them up immediately.
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The cable was destroyed at about 3:00 PM Wednesday when at least 10
high-powered fishing trawlers fishing for abalone and sea cucumber
gathered around the cable in waters between the island and Dalian,
a major port city in Liaoning Province.
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The power failure has caused an estimated 20 million yuan (US$2.4
million) in direct economic losses, particularly for local seafood
processing companies.
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Haiyang Island, famous for producing abalone and fin, is home to
about 10,000 people, mostly fishermen.
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The submarine cable under the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, the
only source of power supply on the island, was built in 1987 at a
cost of 24 million yuan (US$2.9 million).
(Xinhua News Agency June 6, 2005)