39 rescued after Vietnamese ship sinks in South China Sea

SANSHA - Another two distressed crew members of a Vietnamese ship that sunk were rescued by a Chinese helicopter in waters near Yongshu Reef of the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea at 9:17 am on Sunday, bringing the total number rescued to 39, authorities in the south China city of Sansha said.

Six Chinese vessels, one rescue helicopter and one Vietnamese vessel are carrying out search and rescue operations at the scene. All those rescued are Vietnamese nationals from the distressed vessel Khoi Nguyen 18. A total of 62 people were on board.

At about 6:23 pm on Saturday, Nanhai Jiu 115, a rescue ship operated by Nanhai Rescue Bureau of the Ministry of Transport, spotted what was believed to be a rocket parachute distress signal from a distressed ship at sea.

According to the Sansha maritime search and rescue authorities, Khoi Nguyen 18 is a Vietnamese-registered ship measuring 69.9 meters in length and 10.8 meters in beam, with a gross tonnage of 999.

Search and rescue operations are continuing.