VTB 26 ship sunk in Nghe An to be salvaged

(Baonghean.vn) - Along with the salvage plan, Nghe An Maritime Port Authority has also established a maritime accident investigation team for the VTB 26 ship that capsized and sank in Nghe An waters during storm No. 2, leaving 4 people dead and 2 missing.

» Plan to salvage ship VTB 26 that sank in Nghe An

On August 3, Mr. Vuong Binh Minh, Director of Nghe An Maritime Port Authority, said that after many days of monitoring, the unit did not detect any environmental pollution or oil spill in the area where the VTB 26 ship sank as previously feared. Before the 4th storm was expected to make landfall in Nghe An waters, the port authority went to the scene to check and lock up materials, cover vents, and fuel tanks on the ship.

According to Mr. Minh, the ship owner, the ship management and insurance unit have also planned to hire a salvage unit from Hanoi. The salvage of the VTB 26 is expected to begin on August 9.

VTB 26 ship is about to be salvaged. Photo: PV.

A week ago, Nghe An Maritime Port Authority also established an investigation team to investigate the cause of the accident of the VTB 26 ship. This investigation team, including members of the port authority, will work for 60 days.

Previously, at around 2am on July 17, the VTB 26 ship carrying 4,700 tons of coal sent a distress signal while anchored to avoid the storm at Hon Ngu Island (Nghe An). The ship then capsized, many crew members fell into the sea. On the first day of rescue, 7 crew members were rescued along with 2 other bodies. The remaining 4 people were missing. The ship sank about 3 nautical miles from shore, about 800m north of Hon Ngu Island. This area is about 10m deep.

About 600 people from many forces participated in the rescue for 5 days. After the ship sank, although the rescue team determined that some people were still trapped in the ship, they could not mobilize divers to search because the waves were big and the water in this area was murky, obscuring visibility. On the 3rd day of the search, when the divers entered the scene, a body was found trapped in a cabin on the 2nd floor. A day later, the team discovered another body buried in mud in the cabin on the 2nd floor.

To date, there are still two victims missing in the sinking of the VTB 26 ship, Nguyen Van Chieu (29 years old, deck officer) and Nguyen Hai Quyet (26 years old, sailor), both from Hai Phong./.

Tien Hung