The story of a fisherman who escaped death and returned from a shipwreck

(Baonghean.vn) - "Because of the big waves, it was midnight, and we were exhausted, we knew it would be difficult to escape death. Everyone broke foam and stuffed it into their bodies, tying ropes together so that if anyone died, they would gather in one place to help their families find their bodies," said Mr. Dai.

After many efforts of 11 fishing boats of Dien Ngoc commune with nearly 100 fishermen rescuing from 3am on December 5 to 2am on December 6, the 220CV fishing boat of the owner Vu Sy Dai was towed back to shore in the joy of his fellow fishermen. This is a rare case where both people and the boat were saved.

The ship owner Vo Sy Dai said that after 2 days of fishing in the open sea, when returning 6 nautical miles from shore, they encountered a whirlpool, the ship swayed and then hit a sandbar, breaking the engine cooling water pipe, causing water to flood into the boat very quickly. The three brothers could not bail out the water in time, and within 15 minutes the ship sank completely, so they only had time to put on life jackets and make a final phone call home to report that the ship had an accident.

Thanks to the timely rescue, Mr. Vu Sy Dai's ship was towed to shore.

"Because of the big waves, it was midnight, and we were exhausted, we decided it would be difficult to escape death, so we broke foam and stuffed it into our bodies, tied ropes together to float, and if we died, we would gather in one place so our families wouldn't have to work hard to find our bodies. I also told them not to swim, just let their bodies float, otherwise they would lose more strength. After floating at sea for more than 2 hours, the crew members were rescued by fishing association ships and picked up on board. Only then did we know we were still alive," Dai recounted.

Because Mr. Dai's ship sank far from shore and the water was deep, 11 ships had to be mobilized to rescue it. The crew members had to dive down to remove some sand from the ship, then use ropes to pull it up. During the pulling process, the heavy ship caused the rope to break and bounce into the face, injuring 3 crew members and requiring hospitalization.

According to Mr. Dai, although the ship was towed back to shore, the machinery, hull, and fishing gear were lost and damaged, so it would cost hundreds of millions of dong to repair them before it could continue sailing.

Unlike Mr. Dai, the fishing boat of Nguyen Cong Minh has not been salvaged yet. The 48CV boat, worth 300 million VND, was only put into operation for 8 months but was completely lost on the night of December 5.

Returning from the brink of death, ship owner Nguyen Cong Minh was still in shock. Minh said his ship set sail on the evening of December 3. After nearly 2 days of fishing, the ship had achieved a yield of about 3 tons of fish, squid, and shrimp, so the crew decided to return to shore. However, when the ship entered the Cua Lo sea area, 8 nautical miles from shore, a sudden strong wind, combined with a whirlpool, hit the side of the ship, causing it to sink completely.

Although she lost her fishing boat, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Ty was very happy because her son Nguyen Cong Minh returned home safely.

"Because the ship sank so quickly, the crew only had time to put on life jackets. After drifting at sea for nearly 3 hours, everyone was cold, had cramps and was exhausted. It seemed like they would never be able to return to their wives and children. Then, luck appeared. At that moment, a fishing boat from Cua Lo passed by and rescued the crew members," said Mr. Minh.

Because Minh's fishing boat sank in deep water, salvaging it would be very difficult, so he decided to lose everything. "I still owe 200 million VND for the ship's construction, and I don't know what to do to pay it back. From now on, I will probably have to rent it to another boat owner to earn income and ensure daily life for my family," Minh said sadly.

Faced with the heavy losses of fishermen, the Dien Ngoc commune government and the Red Cross promptly visited, encouraged, and supported each boat owner with 1 million VND. In addition, they proposed to the authorities at all levels to provide support and reduce some of the difficulties for the families of fishermen whose boats sank.

Previously, as reported by Nghe An Newspaper, at 2 a.m. on December 5, two fishing boats of fishermen Dien Ngoc, Vu Sy Dai and Nguyen Cong Minh, sank while returning to port. Fortunately, all 6 crew members on both boats were rescued and one boat was rescued and brought back to port.

Mai Giang