Spring Festival Travel Rush: Heavy fog across China leaves passengers stranded

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It's the first day after the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, and China's transportation networks are seeing an influx of passengers as people head back to the cities and their workplaces. But heavy fog across the country has stranded many who were hoping to hit the road. Chuck Tinte has our first story.

Starting Thursday, heavy fog blanketed Huainan in Anhui Province. Thousands of cars approaching the city were stranded. A line of cars could be seen for several kilometers.

XIONG GUOLIANG TRAFFIC POLICE "From 5 o'clock in the morning to now, visibility in most areas is at about 50 meters. Some parts only have 20 meters of visibility due to the moisture in the air. We have temporally closed the entrance until the weather clears."

Rain and snow also affected transportation links in Liaoning and Jiangsu, amongst other places, causing closures and congestion on many expressways.

Meanwhile, heavy fog disrupted ferry services in Haikou city, stranding more than 10-thousand cars near three ports. The local government issued an emergency notice to extend the Spring Festival holiday for one more day to Thursday for all people, except frontline public service departments.

But weather isn't the only problem. A freighter and a passenger ship collided off the coast of Guangdong Province early on Thursday.

Two of the five people on-board the freighter remain missing, while the passenger ship carrying more than 9-hundred passengers docked safely. Rescue work and an investigation are under way. CGTN.