Rescued 16 Nghe An fishermen in distress in the Gulf of Tonkin
(Baonghean.vn) - 16 fishermen were fishing at sea when their boat broke down and could not be repaired, but luckily they were rescued by the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center.
At 7:00 p.m. on March 29, all 16 crew members and fishing boat NA 90558 TS were brought safely to Lach Quen fishing port (Quynh Luu district) by SAR 273.
Previously, at noon on March 27, the fishing boat NA 90558 TS, captained by Mr. Tran Van Dinh (born in 1978, residing in Quynh Long commune, Quynh Luu district, Nghe An), was fishing at sea when the main engine broke down. There were 16 crew members on board, all from Quynh Luu district.
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Towing the NA 90558 TS ship back to the mainland. Photo: Khanh An |
At that time, Mr. Dinh and the crew members on the ship tried to repair and fix it but could not. During the repair process, crew member Tran Quang Khai had an accident at work, broke his arm, and lost a lot of blood.
Therefore, the ship drifted at sea at coordinates 19-25N; 107-25E, on the demarcation line of the Gulf of Tonkin, a common fishing area between Vietnam and China (about 100 nautical miles northeast of Lach Quen estuary, Nghe An).
Meanwhile, due to the influence of the monsoon, the sea area has strong Southeast wind at level 5, possibly strengthening to level 6, gusting to level 7, very dangerous for the ship and 16 crew members.
Captain Tran Van Dinh sent an urgent distress signal. Immediately after receiving the information, the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center (under the Vietnam Maritime Administration, Ministry of Transport) immediately deployed professional measures, directly connected, and requested the captain to regularly maintain contact on frequency 7960 kHz to update the location, status of the ship and the health of the crew.
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| Fishing boat NA 90558 TS carrying 16 crew members in distress at sea. Photo: Khanh An |
Because the area where the ship crashed was experiencing monsoon and strong winds, the crew members were in a state of panic and fatigue. Despite medical guidance, there were no medicines or medical equipment on the wrecked ship. The injured crew member currently has a high fever and cannot eat or drink anything.
At 7:00 p.m. on March 28, the Center dispatched SAR 273 to leave the pier for emergency rescue.
After more than 10 hours of traveling at sea, at 5:24 a.m. on March 29, SAR 273 approached the distressed fishing vessel NA 90558 TS, received and provided health care to the distressed crew member, the entire crew of the distressed fishing vessel, and brought the crew and pulled the fishing vessel safely to shore.
