2000 ton ship sunk by waves, 5 crew members missing

While the 16 crew members on board were having dinner, suddenly a large wave caused the 2,000-ton ship to sway and capsize. 9 people were rescued, but up to this point, 5 crew members are still missing.

At 0:00 on October 31, the search for 5 crew members of the Hoang Phuc 18 ship that was sunk by waves at buoy number 5, Soai Rap river channel (Can Gio district, Ho Chi Minh City) was temporarily suspended.

At 6:00 a.m. the same day, 6 rescue ships continued to deploy search and rescue plans within a 6 nautical mile radius around the area where the Hoang Phuc 18 ship sank to search for the missing people.

Two crew members Hoang Van Bien and Tran Minh Sang narrowly escaped.

According to initial information, on October 28, the 2,000-ton Hoang Phuc 18 ship picked up cargo from the rock yard of Cuong Hung port (Long Thanh district, Dong Nai) and then set off towards the sea. When arriving at the Soai Rap river area, the Hoang Phuc 18 ship stopped for the crew to rest and continue the journey.

On October 30, when arriving at the estuary, due to strong winds and waves, the Hoang Phuc 18 ship had to return to buoy area number 5 (Soai Rap river, Can Gio district) to anchor (7 nautical miles from Can Gio coast) to wait for calm seas to continue the journey.

At around 8pm on October 30, while the 16 crew members on board were having dinner, suddenly a big wave caused the Hoang Phuc 18 to rock. Nearly 800 tons of rocks on the ship and 5 vehicles loaded on top of it caused the strong waves to cause the ship to capsize.

The crew members tried to escape from the ship's hold and clung to the ship's propeller area to call for help. At this time, the barge number LA 03.771 traveling near this area discovered the crew members' call for help and rescued 11 people. A nearby fishing boat brought two people in distress to shore and took them to Long Hoa Border Guard Station, the remaining 9 people were taken to Sao Mai beach (Vung Tau).

Mr. Tran Minh Sang is telling the reporter about the moment he escaped death.

Upon receiving information that a boat had capsized in the estuary area, the Ho Chi Minh City Border Guard, Ho Chi Minh City Maritime Port Authority, the rescue team of the Ho Chi Minh City Fire Police, and Vungtau MRCC quickly deployed vehicles to the area where the Hoang Phuc 18 ship had an accident to search for the missing victims.

Mr. Hoang Van Bien was shocked to tell about the accident.

The five missing crew members on the Hoang Phuc 18 ship include Hai (from Kien Giang), Tuong (31 years old, from Ha Tinh), Tan (from Ha Tinh), Sa (from Thanh Hoa) and Nam (from Ninh Binh).

Two crew members were rescued from the ship capsized and taken to Long Hoa Border Guard Station, including Tran Minh Sang (30 years old, from Khanh Hoa) and Hoang Van Bien (29 years old, from Ha Tinh). Still in shock, trying to drink a bowl of porridge after struggling with the big waves, Sang said that normally the ship can still move with big waves and strong winds, but today, the ship was heavily loaded so it had to anchor at buoy number 5.

The crew members took advantage of the time when the ship was anchored to cook dinner when suddenly a strong wave hit the hull of the ship, causing it to shake violently, sway, and capsize. Sang and three other crew members were eating in the cabin, so when the ship capsized, all four were trapped inside. Trapped in the flooded cabin, Sang tried to swim out to find a window and surfaced, clinging to the ship's propeller. A moment later, another crew member also surfaced and clung to the propeller.

Colonel Le Ngoc Hung

A barge anchored about 50m away from the Hoang Phuc 18 ship discovered the incident and rushed to the rescue and picked up 9 crew members who were drifting at sea. The big waves prevented the barge from reaching Mr. Sang's location, so the person on the barge tied a rope to a buoy and threw it to Mr. Sang and another crew member pulled both of them onto the barge safely.

Mr. Hoang Van Bien (29 years old), whose clothes were still soaked with water, recounted that when the ship showed signs of shaking, Mr. Bien, Mr. Tuong and Mr. Nam said that the ship had been rocking continuously for several minutes before the accident. Seeing something unusual, Mr. Bien and two other people named Tuong and Nam tried to run to the side of the ship. "I saw several other crew members jump into the river before the ship capsized. Tuong and Nam also jumped into the river but now they are still missing."

Colonel Le Ngoc Hung, Chief of Staff of the HCM City Border Guard, said that at first, the ship owner called the border guard station to report that the ship had capsized and many crew members were in distress, but after that, they were unable to contact the ship owner. Therefore, the rescue force does not have an exact list of missing crew members. At 6 a.m. on October 31, the rescue force, including the HCM City Fire Police, Fisheries Surveillance, Border Guard, and fishing boats operating in the area, will continue to search for the victims.

First missing crew member found

At 11:25 a.m. on October 31, from a hole cut near the propeller of the Hoang Phuc 18 ship's bottom, the rescue team went deep inside the ship's hold and found the first trapped person.

Rescuers and those trapped inside the ship were able to communicate with each other and reported that their health was stable. Rescuers pulled a crew member from the capsized ship and took him to SAR 413 to bring him to shore.

Rescue forces are urgently trying to save trapped victims.

Previously, Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee, Mr. Le Thanh Liem was present at Long Hoa Border Guard Station, boarded a boat to the scene of the Hoang Phuc 18 ship accident, inspected and urged rescue forces to quickly carry out search and rescue measures for the missing victims.

Before bringing the first crew member aboard SAR 413 to the mainland, the plan was to use an air tank to cut the bottom of the ship to find a vent and provide oxygen to those trapped inside and find a way for the rescue team to crawl into the compartments to find the victims.

A helicopter and many vehicles were sent to help search for victims. The search in high waves and hot sun made it difficult for the forces. Many reporters accompanying the rescue team suffered from seasickness.

Rescue work is very urgent.

According to a new information received from Vung Tau Port Authority, Vung Tau has received 10 crew members of Hoang Phuc 18 ship, not 9 crew members as initially reported. Thus, there are a total of 17 crew members on Hoang Phuc 18 ship.

According to CAND