HONG KONG, May 17: China evacuated more than 600,000 people as the strongest typhoon on record to enter the South China Sea in May bore down on the south coast on Wednesday, causing flight and shipping delays around the region.

Typhoon Chanchu, packing winds up to 170kph, made landfall northeast of Hong Kong in Guangdong province later on Wednesday after killing 37 people as it swept across the Philippines last weekend.

Chinese state television news said some 320,000 people were evacuated from their homes along the coast of Guangdong province, while more than 300,000 were moved in neighbouring Fujian province.

Fujian called back all ships to port, and Guangdong called back in more than 58,000 vessels as schools suspended classes, it said.

An ore-carrying Belgian ship with eight crew members aboard was trapped some 200 sea miles offshore on the South China Sea on Wednesday and a Chinese rescue vessel was expected to reach it on Thursday morning.

In Taiwan, where most areas were lashed by heavy rains, rescuers winched to safety the crew of an oil tanker that had run aground off the coast of Kaoshiung.—Reuters