Three astronauts who took part in the Shenzhou-19 crewed mission were on Wednesday awarded medals for their services to China's space endeavors.

Cai Xuzhe was honored with a second-class aerospace achievement medal. Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze received third-class aerospace achievement medals and the honorary title of "Heroic Astronaut."

The decision to honor them was made by the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the State Council and the Central Military Commission.

Cai participated in two spaceflight missions -- Shenzhou-14 and Shenzhou-19 and completed a total of five extravehicular activities, making him the astronaut with the highest number of extravehicular outings in China.

Song accomplished three extravehicular activities on his first spaceflight, thus becoming the country's first astronaut born after 1990 to conduct an extravehicular activity.

Wang is China's first female aerospace flight engineer to reside in the space station.

The Shenzhou-19 manned spaceship was launched on Oct. 30, 2024, and docked with the Chinese space station's core module Tianhe to form a combination. The trio returned to Earth on April 30.

During their six-month stay in orbit, the crew conducted three extravehicular activities and performed six payload transfer operations in and out of the airlock cabin.

They also completed over 90 construction, upgrading, and maintenance tasks for the space station, and carried out more than 80 space science experiments and technology tests.

During the mission, the Shenzhou-19 crew set a world record for the longest single extravehicular activity duration by Chinese astronauts -- nine hours in total.

The government of North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has attached great importance to the tragic incident where six university students fell into a flotation tank during an educational visit on Wednesday, and will establish an investigation team to conduct a higher-level inquiry, China Central Television (CCTV) cited the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region bureau of emergency management as saying. 

The students, who were from Northeastern University in the city of Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning Province, were learning about the flotation process at a plant of Wunugetushan copper-molybdenum deposit, which belongs to Zhongjin Gold Corporation, when they fell into a flotation tank after falling off a grate, according to CCTV.

After all efforts to rescue them, the students were retrieved but were confirmed drowned by medical personnel. Additionally, one teacher was injured.

After the incident, the company immediately activated its emergency response plan and sent personnel to the scene to manage the situation, Zhongjin Gold Corporation said in a statement on Thursday.

The company expresses its deep condolences to the victims, sincere sympathy to the injured and the families of the deceased, and extended its heartfelt apologies for the social impact caused by this tragedy.

Currently, Zhongjin Gold Corporation has set up an on-site command center, where relevant follow-up work is being carried out, an employee from the company told the Global Times on Thursday, adding that they will provide updates in a timely manner.

On the afternoon of Thursday, a student's family members told reporters that on Wednesday, they received a notification from the school saying that the student was undergoing emergency treatment. Later that evening, they received calls from the student's academic advisor and the leading teacher, informing them that the child had lost vital signs, according to jiemian.com.

The student's parents and elder sister arrived in Manzhouli, Inner Mongolia on Thursday. The sister said that the family's only demand is to "uncover the truth and ensure that no one involved evades responsibility."

On Thursday, the stocks of Zhongjin Gold Corporation opened with a sharp decline. By market close, the company had fallen 4.41 percent to 15.19 yuan ($2.13) per share, with a total market capitalization of 73.631 billion yuan.

The Northeastern University told the Global Times that it is still collecting information related to the accident, and will report their findings in due course.  

In a video released by the Xinhua News Agency, the plant involved has suspended all its operations.

Flotation is an important technique for processing ores, commonly used in the extraction of valuable metal-bearing particles from crushed ore, with flotation tanks being the key equipment, according to cctv.com. 

The tank is usually a large, deep vessel, either square or round, with depths reaching several meters. Instead of water, the flotation tank contains a slurry made from crushed ore, water and flotation chemicals. 

This slurry is much denser than water and has a thick, mud-like consistency. If someone falls into it, they quickly sink to the bottom, and the slurry can block the airways, making it difficult to breathe; corrosive chemicals can severely burn a person's respiratory system and lungs if inhaled. Additionally, there is a high-speed rotating impeller in the tank, and anyone falling in could be struck by it, which can potentially break bones or cause severe injuries, the cctv.com explained.

In a commentary published Thursday, Xinhua asked why the grating above the flotation tank — an essential part of the mineral processing plant — was suddenly detached during the students' visit. 

"Was it the result of long-term neglect, or was there a fundamental flaw in the installation from the start? Moreover, were routine safety inspections and equipment maintenance conducted properly?"

The commentary further cautioned that this tragedy should serve as a stark reminder of the need for heightened safety practices in school social programs. 

Following consecutive days of high and humid temperatures, there have been incidents of glass shattering across China. A glass installer said that he has already replaced 60 glass panels in the past two months, averaging nearly one per day, China National Radio (CNR) reported.
The sweltering heat has tested the limits of glass. Recently, incidents of glass shattering due to high temperatures have been reported across the country, CNR reported.

A resident surnamed Tian from Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province, noticed that the inner layer of the glass in his bathroom window cracked into a spiderweb pattern on a recent morning. 

He noted that while the air conditioning in the room was set to around 27 C, the bathroom window, facing east, was exposed to direct sunlight.

“I didn’t hear any noise,” Tian said, adding that since it cracked from the inner layer, it was unlikely to have been caused by an external impact. 

“I suspect it was due to the extreme heat," he said.  

A glass installation worker said that cases of spontaneous glass breakage have surged in the past two months — he has replaced 60 glass panels, averaging one per day, according to the CNR.

According to industry insiders, glass naturally contains tiny crystalline impurities. When there is a significant temperature difference between indoor and outdoor environments, thermal expansion and contraction can occur, which can cause spontaneous breakage, experts said.

Such incidents typically peak from May to October each year, as high temperatures amplify the indoor-outdoor temperature differential, increasing the risk of glass shattering, CNR said. 

Earlier in July, due to consecutive days of high temperatures, a glass panel at a bus shelter in Changsha, Central China's Hunan Province, experienced spontaneous shattering. Fortunately, no casualties were reported, as confirmed by staff from the Changsha bus shelter management department, Xiaoxiang Morning News reported.

As many as 152 national-level meteorological observation stations across China have recorded high temperatures exceeding 40 C since the beginning of July, China Meteorological Administration (CMA) reported on Wednesday.