Beijing - After 78 days on Chinese soil, work has finally started on bringing home the damaged US spy plan stranded on Hainan Island since April 1st, reports Miriam Donohoe. On Saturday, a Russian cargo aircraft and a crew of 12 arrived on Hainan Island to begin the painstaking task of dismantling the US EP-3 surveillance plane which collided with a Chinese fighter jet in the South China Sea, resulting in the death of the Chinese pilot.
The incident triggered a major diplomatic crisis between the US and China and the detention of the 24 crewmen for 11 days. The dismantling is expected to take three weeks.