Xi urges all-out rescue efforts after fishing vessel capsizes

BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping has demanded all-out efforts in the rescue of the missing people after a Chinese deep-sea fishing vessel capsized Tuesday in the central Indian Ocean.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the instruction following the incident that occurred around 3 am Tuesday, urging relevant departments to activate the emergency response mechanism immediately.

The incident has so far left 39 people on board missing, including 17 Chinese mariners, 17 Indonesian mariners and five Philippine mariners.

Xi ordered efforts to further strengthen the investigation and early warning of potential safety risks in deep-sea operations to ensure the safety of life and property.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, urged all-out efforts to reduce casualties and strengthen safety management of fishing vessels at sea to ensure safe maritime transport and production.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Transport and Shandong Province have activated emergency response mechanism to organize the rescue work. On-site rescue is under way.