Explosion kills 5

FIVE children were killed and another was seriously injured Sunday in a blast at an abandoned firecracker factory in a cave in Yuncheng City in North China's Shanxi Province.

The six, all boys about 10 years old, were playing inside the factory near Wangjia Village of Nanzhang Township, Wanrong County, which the local government ordered to be shut down in 1991, according to sources from Yuncheng City Government. The boys accidentally ignited a small amount of explosives with a torch.

Fishermen missing

TWELVE fishermen from a Chinese fishing boat were still missing after their vessel was caught in Typhoon Hagibis five days ago in the South China Sea, Xinhua reported yesterday.

The boat was fishing for shrimp and small fish near Meiji Reef, an important fishing ground in the South China Sea 1,203 km from Sanya in Hainan Province, the report said.

Roof collapse

THREE construction workers were killed and 11 were injured when the roof of a new bus terminal collapsed 10 hours after a ceremony, marking the completion of its main structure in Houma City, Shanxi Province, Xinhua reported yesterday.

The accident occurred about 1 a.m. Sunday when the concrete ceiling of the two-story building collapsed and pulled down several supporting steel pillars, the report said. Construction of the station was supposed to be completed before May.

Air control

THE five-day airspace control that disrupted the travel plans of thousands of air passengers to and from Shanghai since last Tuesday ended at midnight Saturday, an official with the General Administration of Civil Aviation (CAAC) said Sunday.

More than 30 flights were postponed Sunday, according to Li Jingao, an official with the market management office of the Shanghai-based CAAC East China Air Traffic Management Bureau. About 20 of the flights were domestic, mainly from Shanghai to Shenyang, Wuhan and Chongqing.

Congestion fee

SHANGHAI is considering London-style "congestion fees" for private cars driving during peak hours to ease traffic pressure caused by soaring car ownership, domestic media said yesterday.

The city's traffic bureau said congestion fees could reduce traffic flow by 10 to 20 percent, while increasing speed by between 15 and 25 percent, the Beijing News reported.