Death toll from the car-bus collision in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has risen to 12, said local authorities on Sunday.

Three people who were seriously injured died in hospital on the early morning of Sunday, confirmed the regional administration of work safety.

The accident happened at about 5:20 p.m. when an unregistered car crashed with a bus on a section of a national road in Arun Banner, Hulun Buir City.

Nine people were found dead at the scene. Thirteen others were injured, including four in critical condition.

A team formed by the public security, transportation, health and civil affairs authorities is taking care of the relatives.

Cause of the accident is under investigation.

Jiaolong, China’s manned submersible on Saturday retrieved a basalt sample from the Zhenbei Seamount in the South China Sea which scientists say could shed light on the formation and evolution of seamounts in the area.

Jiaolong stayed underwater for nine and a half hours in its third dive in the second stage of China’s 38th ocean scientific expedition, which will last until May 13.

The maximum depth of the dive was 2,930 meters beneath the sea surface.

Aside from the five-kilogram basalt sample, it also brought back samples of sediments and seawater near the seabed as well as biosamples, in addition to high-definition photos and video footages.

“It is not easy (to acquire such a basalt sample). This valuable ‘rock’ will lay the foundation for our study of formation and evolvement of seamounts in the South China Sea during the Cenozoic period,” said Shi Xuefa, a researcher with the State Oceanic Administration.

“It is very important for the study of the region’s structural evolution,” Shi said.

Jiaolong has already completed two dives in the South China Sea on Wednesday and Thursday. A fourth dive has been planned on Sunday. The 38th oceanic scientific expedition started on Feb. 6. Jiaolong completed a dive in the northwestern Indian Ocean earlier this year in the mission’s first stage. It will also conduct surveys in the Yap Trench and the Mariana Trench in the third stage.

Named after a mythical dragon, Jiaolong reached its deepest depth of 7,062 meters in the Mariana Trench in June 2012.

China’s large amphibious aircraft AG600 on Saturday successfully conducted its first glide test in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai as it is preparing for its maiden flight.

Other tests and check-ups are under way, according to the China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co., Ltd.

Designed to be the world’s largest amphibious aircraft, the 37-meter AG600, with a wingspan of 38.8 meters, has a maximum take-off weight of 53.5 tonnes. It can collect 12 tonnes of water in 20 seconds, and transport up to 370 tonnes of water on a single tank of fuel.

With excellent maneuverability and a relatively wide search scope range, the AG600 will be mainly used for maritime rescue, forest fire fighting, marine environment monitoring and protection.

Aviation Industry Corp. of China said in March that AG600 would embark on its maiden flight over land in late May and on water in the second half of 2017.

The aircraft developer has received orders for 17 AG600s.

A research institute on eldercare under the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs launched a website providing online services for senior citizens Friday.

The website offers services such as entertainment, finance, home care, shopping and travel.

China committed to providing higher quality public services for senior citizens, in the five-year plan (2016-2020) on eldercare issued by the State Council in March.

By 2020, approximately 255 million Chinese will be over 60 years old, accounting for 17.8 percent of the population. The number of elderly living alone is expected to reach 118 million.

The International Department of the CPC Central Committee held a promotion meeting in Beijing on April 27 to share Yunnan’s poverty alleviation measures with visiting foreign parties, ambassadors and diplomats.

Under the theme “targeted poverty alleviation — no ethnic group shall be left behind,” the promotion meeting took Yunnan’s poverty alleviation experience as an example to introduce President Xi Jinping’s new vision, thinking and strategies on China’s governance.

Yunnan Province in Southwest China is one of China’s undeveloped provinces with many ethnic minorities.

Song Tao, minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, said the practice of Yunnan Province in eradicating poverty is a good example of China’s anti-poverty drive and proves that the targeted poverty reduction strategies outlined by President Xi Jinping is key to achieving poverty targets.

After the 18th National Party Congress，the party pledged to wipe out poverty by 2020. A total of 55.64 million people were lifted out of poverty between 2013 and 2016.

“The CPC would like to share the experience in poverty reduction with the international community and help neighboring and developing countries explore their own paths of poverty alleviation,” he added.

Chen Hao, secretary of the CPC Yunnan provincial committee, revealed that the 8 million people living in poverty in the southwestern province in 2012, more than 4.4 million had improved their situation by the end of 2016.

Mark van den Boogaard, senior policy adviser for the United Nations Development Programme, and Javier Miranda, president of Broad Front in Uruguay, have recently returned from a research trip to Yunnan. They said that they were impressed by Yunnan’s success in fighting poverty.

Mark said, “I was impressed by two things. One is the CPC’s comprehensive guidance and the other is the joint efforts of society in the poverty alleviation work.”

Foreign guests who have visited China for many times hailed China’s anti-poverty drive, saying it has set a good example for the world and the CPC’s efforts to lift millions of people out of poverty is unprecedented.