World
        

Center

25 missing after ship capsizes off China; 2 safe

Updated: 2010-12-17 13:48

(Xinhua)

Twitter Facebook Myspace Yahoo! Linkedin Mixx

GUANGZHOU - Two Vietnamese sailors were rescued Friday, more than 20 hours after their vessel sank in the South China Sea, but 25 others are still missing.

The Vietnamese cargo ship, the "Phu Tan", capsized and sank in strong gales about 110 nautical miles west of Sanya city on China's southern island province of Hainan, according to the South China Sea Salvage Bureau.

Related readings:
25 missing after ship capsizes off China; 2 safe 5 dead, 17 missing as S Korean ship sinks
25 missing after ship capsizes off China; 2 safe 4 killed as S Korean fishing vessel sinks
25 missing after ship capsizes off China; 2 safe Ship with 12 sailors sinks in Black Sea, 8 rescued
25 missing after ship capsizes off China; 2 safe Russian towboat sinks with 14 aboard, 3 rescued

Twenty-seven people aboard were thrown into the sea.

The bureau immediately dispatched a rescue vessel to search for the missing after it received two emergency calls from the Vietnamese maritime department at noon Thursday, a spokesman said.

Rescuers said that around 7:30 pm, the rescue vessel, "South China Sea R 111," arrived at the site in strong gales of 75.6 to 100 km per hour and waves 6 meters high, but found no sign of survivors.

The vessel began searching a larger sea area in the direction in which survivors would have drifted.

At around 8:40 am Friday, rescuers found two Vietnamese sailors in waters of the Beibu Gulf, 27 nautical miles from the accident site.

The search for the 25 sailors who are still missing continues.

According to the Vietnam News Agency, the cargo ship was heading from Vietnam's central Danang city to the northern Haiphong city when it hit gales.

Previous media reports said the Phu Tan was a fishing boat, but the agency said it was a cargo ship with a crew of 27. The loading capacity of the ship was more than 14,000 tons.

E-paper

Ear We Go

China and the world set to embrace the merciful, peaceful year of rabbit

Preview of the coming issue
Carrefour finds the going tough in China
Maid to Order

European Edition

Specials

Mysteries written in blood

Historical records and Caucasian features of locals suggest link with Roman Empire.

Winning Charm

Coastal Yantai banks on little things that matter to grow

New rules to hit property market

The State Council launched a new round of measures to rein in property prices.

Top 10 of 2010
China Daily in Europe
The Confucius connection