A world microlight champion says he still hopes to be the first to make a solo round-the-world flight after being forced down by Chinese warplanes.
Published:
24 June 2000 y., Saturday
The incident happened at about 0700 BST on Friday as Colin Bodill was flying from Hanoi, Vietnam, to Hong Kong during his attempt to fly 23,000 miles around the globe within 90 days.
He was blown 100 miles off course into what appeared to be a military area and Chinese Air Force warplanes were scrambled to order him to land.
Mr Bodill, 49, of Nottingham, is in police custody in Zhanjiang, in the Guangdong province, but he is not under arrest. A Foreign Office spokesman said staff at the British Embassy in Beijing and the Consulate-General in Zhanjiang were working with the Chinese authorities to secure his release.
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
The Sydney skyline cleared Thursday, after an enormous dust storm clouded the city under a red hue a day earlier. Sydney residents began cleaning their city after a huge outback dust storm blew tones of soil into the city.
more »
European day of languages is a celebration of the many languages spoken in the EU.
more »
Job fairs pitch benefits of working abroad in the EU.
more »
The world’s poor will bear the brunt of the impact of global climate change.
more »
The European Heritage Days – supported by the European Commission – will once again attract around 20 million people in 49 countries to visit selected sites and monuments.
more »
An Asian black bear attacked a group of tourists waiting at this bus station in a mountainous region of central Japan.
more »
One hundred and sixty-eight couples line up to say “I Do.” The mass wedding ceremony took place at Singapore's Botanic Gardens to mark the attraction's 150th anniversary.
more »
The Commission celebrates this year's European Day of Languages, 26 September, for almost a week.
more »
New navigation and layout make it easier to find what you’re looking for on the EU site’s main pages – in any official EU language.
more »
The Helsinki Commission, Helcom, receives the Swedish Baltic Sea Water Award 2009.
more »