Cargo ship sinks fishing boat, 1 fisherman missing

(Baonghean.vn) -On the afternoon of June 5, relatives of the fishermen whose ship sank stood along both banks of the port of Squadron 2 (Nghe An Border Guard) waiting for Squadron 2 to tow the ship and the fishermen in distress to shore.

The ship NA 90628TS is being towed to shore by the Nghe An Border Guard Squadron 2 ship.

Previously, on the evening of June 4, the ship with registration number NA-90628 TS, including 3 fishermen Vo Sy Tuong (61 years old), Vo Van Chinh (57 years old) and Truong Nhu Hai (31 years old - all 3 residing in Ngu Hai ward, Cua Lo town, Nghe An province) was fishing in the Cua Lo sea area - an area about 10 nautical miles east of Mat island when it was suddenly hit by a large ship. The strong collision caused the small fishing boat with registration number NA - 90628 - TS to capsize, and the 3 fishermen on board were thrown into the sea. Mr. Vo Sy Tuong and Mr. Truong Nhu Hai were fortunately rescued by a nearby fishing boat. Mr. Chinh was missing.

At the wharf of Squadron 2, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Xuan Phuong - Squadron Leader of Squadron 2, said: At around 9pm on June 4, we received a report from the families of fishermen who were sunk by another ship at sea. Immediately after that, we dispatched two ships BP - 06.12.01 and BP - 06.13.01 with 20 officers and soldiers of the squadron to urgently rescue the fishermen. At around 2am on June 5, we were able to reach the scene, bring the two surviving fishermen onto the ship to perform first aid, restore their health and tow the distressed ship to shore.

At 3:30 p.m. on June 5, the rescue ship of Squadron 2 towed the fishing boat NA-90628-TS safely to shore. As soon as the boat docked, after a few minutes of greetings and encouragement from the officers and soldiers of Squadron 2 and local authorities, Mr. Truong Nhu Hai hugged his nearly 3-year-old daughter and his pregnant wife who were waiting on shore. His face was darkened by the sun and wind and tired after a sleepless night, Mr. Hai still could not forget the moment of his escape when the boat was sunk.

“It was around 7 p.m. on June 4. Uncle Tuong and Chinh were fishing with us when we spotted a large cargo ship approaching. We turned on the lights and used flags to signal the other ship, but it was too late. Within a few minutes, the ship rushed forward, hitting the side of our ship, causing it to capsize,” Hai said. The strong collision threw the three fishermen into the sea. The large cargo ship continued to run, leaving the three fishermen adrift in the middle of the ocean. Using their remaining strength, the three of them swam in the sea while trying to maintain their strength to wait for the ship to come rescue them. “Because Uncle Chinh was wearing long clothes, he couldn’t swim much and quickly lost strength. After just over 20 minutes, he let go of his hands and said to us, “I think I’m leaving now…” Hai recalled with tears in his eyes.

Border Guard forces encouraged Mr. Truong Nhu Hai who had just reached the shore.

Mr. Hai and Mr. Tuong clung to the side of the boat floating on the sea and were rescued by a nearby ship. Immediately after, information about the ship in distress was reported to their families and Squadron 2 to come to the scene for rescue. Throughout the night of June 4 to June 5, two ships of Squadron 2 and a fishing boat "swarmed" near the area where the NA - 90628 - TS ship had an accident to search for Mr. Vo Van Chinh but found no trace. According to Mr. Hai, when the ship sank, he only had time to see that the ship that hit it was a cargo ship with 2 cranes but the registration number was unknown.

Mr. Vo Van Nghiem (28 years old, Mr. Tuong's son) said that the boat that had the accident was built by him and his father with money from friends and relatives, with a capacity of 90 horsepower. "Our family's boat mainly fishes near the shore. Since last night until now, we have been very worried because we don't understand why it was sunk by another ship. Until now, my father is still at sea looking for Uncle Chinh," said Mr. Nghiem. It is known that Mr. Chinh is Mr. Tuong's cousin. Since the boat had the accident, Mr. Tuong has remained at the scene to continue looking for Mr. Chinh, so he has not been able to go ashore.

Mr. Nguyen Van Bich - Chairman of Nghi Hai Ward People's Committee added that as of 4:30 p.m. on June 5, the authorities had not yet found any trace of fisherman Vo Van Chinh. Currently, the local authorities are coordinating with the victim's family to use boats and fishing nets to search the area of ​​the shipwreck to find the missing victim soon.

Hung Phong