Capsized Chinese fishing vessel drifts over 100 nautical miles

BEIJING - A capsized Chinese deep-sea fishing vessel is estimated to have drifted for over 100 nautical miles, the Ministry of Transport said on Saturday.

The ship, Lupeng Yuanyu 028, still has a small part of its bottom out of the water and is drifting slowly west by north after capsizing on Tuesday in the central Indian Ocean.

Search and rescue work is still underway, with 12 Chinese rescue vessels, including three navy vessels, on the spot. A Sri Lankan warship with divers onboard is expected to reach the area at around 4 pm on Saturday.

At 6:30 pm on Friday, the tugboat of the ministry arrived at the rescue site and cast small boats to approach the capsized vessel for investigation.

The capsized vessel had 39 people on board, including 17 Chinese mariners, 17 Indonesian mariners, and five Philippine mariners. The accident occurred at approximately 3 am. Tuesday, and two people were confirmed dead on Thursday.

China's Transport Minister Li Xiaopeng Saturday said that the ministry would send more rescue forces and make all-out efforts to search for and rescue the missing.