According to a report by the WeChat public account “Nanhai Fleet” on the evening of July 26, around 19:00 on July 25, the Navy of the Southern War Zone received a notification from the Nanhai Rescue Ship 115. A Vietnamese ship was in distress and sank about 38 nautical miles north of Yongyu Reef. Upon receiving the notification, the Navy of the Southern War Zone immediately activated an emergency response plan, organizing ships such as the “Friendly” Hospital Ship and the Rizhao Ship to carry out joint rescue operations. Around 10:00 on the morning of July 26, the Rizhao Ship discovered five people who had fallen into the water and promptly dispatched a shipborne boat to provide assistance. Two Vietnamese crew members who showed symptoms of hypothermia were rescued after three and a half hours of treatment on the “Friendly” Hospital Ship. Currently, all the rescued persons have been safely transferred, and the Navy of the Southern War Zone is still working hard to continue the search and rescue efforts.
Rizhao ship dispatched shore-based boats for rescue (photo by Zhou Jianbin)
The medical staff on the “Friendly” hospital ship provided treatment to Vietnamese crew members in distress (Photo by Zhang Suheng)
According to information previously obtained by Xinhua from Sanya City, Hainan Province, a Vietnamese ship named “KHOI NGUYEN 18” ran into trouble and sank near the Yongshu Reef in Sanya. As of 9:17 on the 26th, 39 people have been rescued. Six Chinese ships, one rescue helicopter, and one Vietnamese ship are currently conducting search and rescue operations at the scene. According to news from CCTV on the afternoon of the 26th, China has successfully rescued 45 people, while 17 people are still missing.
At approximately 18:23 on July 25th, the “Nanhai Rescue 115” vessel of the South China Sea Rescue Bureau of the Ministry of Transport spotted a suspected life-saving signal on the sea surface near Nansha’s Yongshu Reef. Further observation confirmed that there was a lifeboat carrying several people at the scene. At 18:24, the “Nanhai Rescue 115” approached to verify the situation. The people on the lifeboat waved clothes in distress signals. At 18:47, the rescue vessel approached the side of the lifeboat to carry out rescue operations. By 18:54, all 29 people on the lifeboat who were in distress had been safely transferred to the rescue vessel. At 22:38 on July 25th, the “Nanhai Rescue 115” discovered a second lifeboat during its search and rescue operation, and rescued 7 people. At 05:10 on July 26th, the Yue-Mao Fishing Vessel No. 41528 rescued another person in distress. At 09:17, our rescue helicopter rescued another 2 people in distress.
Upon verification, all the rescued individuals are of Vietnamese nationality and were on the distressed ship “KHOI NGUYEN 18”. According to the report from the Sansha Maritime Search and Rescue Center, the distressed ship is a Vietnamese vessel named “KHOI NGUYEN 18”, with a length of 69.9 meters and a width of 10.8 meters. There were a total of 62 people on board.
