HANGZHOU, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's maritime rescue services will stage their biggest ever rescue drill in the East China Sea next month, an official with Zhejiang Provincial Maritime Bureau said Monday.

    The drill, jointly held by the Ministry of Transport and east China's Zhejiang Province, will involve 35 ships, three aircraft and more than 1,000 personnel.

    No exact timetable was given.

    The drill would test maritime rescue capabilities and security for the Shanghai World Expo in 2010, said He Yipei, deputy director of the Zhejiang provincial maritime bureau.

    The 90-minute exercise would simulate a collision between a passenger ship and a cargo vessel loaded with chemicals, and a fire on the passenger ship and a benzene leak, He told a press briefing.

    Rescuers would search for people in the water, put out the fire and evacuate 16,000 people living along the coast.

Special Report:  Expo 2010 Shanghai China