Nghe An: Relatives wait for news of crew members on ship fire in Hong Kong

Earlier, at noon on January 8 (local time), the 17,500-ton Aulac Fortune ship, when arriving in Hong Kong waters, about 1 nautical mile south of Lamma Island and preparing to refuel, exploded and caught fire.

At the time of the incident, there were 27 people on board, including 25 Vietnamese crew members and 2 members of the Hong Kong supply ship. 24 people were rescued, one died and 2 were missing. Hong Kong authorities immediately sent a list of 25 crew members on the Aulac Fortune ship in distress to Vietnam, including 2 crew members from Nghe An: Tran Hoang Phong (born in 1986) in Phu Lien village, Quynh Long commune (Quynh Luu) who was a 3rd shift engineer and Nguyen Huu Nam (born in 1975, address unknown) who worked as a service worker on the ship.

Oil tanker Aulac Fortune caught fire off the coast of Hong Kong, China on January 8, 2019. Source: AFP/TTXVN

Upon hearing the news that a Vietnamese oil tanker caught fire in Hong Kong, killing one person, leaving two missing and injuring many others, relatives of crew member Tran Hoang Phong in Phu Lien village, Quynh Long commune (Quynh Luu) were extremely worried and felt sorry for their son in a foreign land who was in trouble.

Since hearing the news of the oil tanker fire where her son was working, Mrs. Ho Thi Phin (mother of crew member Tran Hoang Phong) was in shock and worried about her son. Knowing the situation, neighbors and relatives came to encourage and comfort her to stay calm and wait for news of her son.

“After hearing the news of the ship accident, Mrs. Phin could not keep calm and was in shock. She has been lying unconscious for two days without eating or drinking because she was worried about her son. Her family and relatives came to encourage her to stay calm and wait for news of her son,” said Mr. Tran Xuan Chien, a relative of crew member Phong.

Relatives of sailor Tran Hoang Phong in his hometown are extremely worried, waiting for news of his return. Photo: Viet Hung

According to the family, at around 5:00 p.m. on January 8, the family received a phone call from the Company (where Phong works). On the morning of January 9, Mr. Tran Hoang De (Phong's father) bought a ticket and flew to Ho Chi Minh City to check on the situation; but until now, Mr. De has not called back.

As for the crew member's family and relatives, they still do not know about Phong's health condition. Everyone is "waiting" and hoping that crew member Tran Hoang Phong will return home safely.

It is known that crew member Tran Hoang Phong graduated from the Maritime University, in 2012 he became a sailor on large cargo ships traveling across countries. After about 7 years at sea, in 2016 Phong married Ms. Thom (from the same hometown), and they now have a 5-month-old daughter. For work convenience, Phong and Ms. Thom moved to Ho Chi Minh City to build a house and live./.