Two bodies found after fishing vessel capsized

Two bodies were found on Thursday afternoon after a Chinese deep-sea fishing vessel capsized on Tuesday in the Indian Ocean with a 39-member crew on board, the Ministry of Transport said on Thursday.

A total of 10 vessels have carried out search and rescue work on site, including nine Chinese vessels and one foreign vessel. Another two vessels deployed from China are expected to arrive on Friday to join the operation.

The crew members of Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028, the capsized vessel, comprising of 17 Chinese, 17 Indonesian and five Philippine sailors, have been missing since 3 am on Tuesday when the incident occurred in the central part of the Indian Ocean.

The vessel was owned by Penglai Jinglu Fishery Co, a major fishing company based in Yantai, Shandong province.

According to the Ministry of Transport, a small amount of floating objects such as woven bags and plastic baskets were found at the scene.

On Wednesday, four aircrafts—three from Australia and one from India—joined in the search. Australia is expected to send aircrafts to continue the search operation on Thursday.

The Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs have maintained close communication and arranged additional forces to carry out search and rescue, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Coordination with neighboring countries such as Australia and India have also been continuing to add more forces for search and rescue, and broadcast navigation warnings.