A heavy fog closed the Tianhe Airport of Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, central China, for five hours Sunday, leading to the cancellation and delay of more than 30 flights.

The city was hit by a heavy fog early Sunday morning, and the minimum visibility at the airport was less than 20 meters. Ten flights including one destined to Seoul of the Republic of Korea were cancelled, and 24 others were delayed, an official of the airport said.

He said that another 12 flights were forced to land in alternate airports.

More than 3,000 passengers were held up at the airport, which started to resume normal operation at noon after the fog became thin.

The bad fog also caused the closure of some sections of two major freeways and delayed more than 300 coaches.

The fog is expected to last to Monday, weather forecast said.

(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2006)