Another body found on sunken ship in Nghe An

(Baonghean.vn) - A team of professional divers continued to search for the remaining parts of the transport ship, and discovered another body.

» Protective suits of sunken ship crew found washed ashore in Nghe An

» Nghe An ship sinking: Divers and trawlers mobilized to search for 4 missing crew members

Mr. Vuong Binh Minh, Director of Nghe An Maritime Port Authority, said that at 9:30 am on July 20, search forces found a body in the sunken ship VTB 26 in Nghe An. The identity of the body has not been determined. Rescue forces are bringing the body to shore.

The body was found by a team of divers in the second floor compartment on the left side of the VTB 26, the part submerged deep below the seabed.

Thus, up to this point, there are still 2 crew members missing.

SAR ship brings the body of the crew member to shore. Photo: Tien Hung.

After being brought ashore, the crew member's body will be taken to the hospital's cold room for identification procedures and handover to relatives. Photo: Tien Hung.

Since dawn, the search force has continued to use more than 20 ships and boats of various types to find the remaining crew members of the VTB 26 sinking, including Nguyen Van Xuan - first mate, from Thanh Hoa; Nguyen Van Chieu - deck officer, from Hai Phong and Nguyen Hai Quyet - OS sailor, from Hai Phong.

Including border guard ships, 2 canoes, jet skis, 2 SAR ships of the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center (VMRCC)... 2 pairs of fishing trawlers continued to participate. This is the 4th working day of the search force.

“The trawlers must mark where they go to narrow down the search area. One pair will run from Cua Hoi to Cua Lo, the other pair will run from Cua Lo to the sea area of ​​Dien Chau district,” Mr. Nguyen Van Tinh, Deputy General Director of VMRCC, assigned the task.

Search forces approach the wrecked ship. Photo: Thanh Duy.

Meanwhile, 10 divers, divided into 5 teams of 2 people each, continued diving into the ship to search for the remaining part. “Yesterday, the diving team searched about half of the ship in the upper part. There are still some rooms on the seabed that are stuck and still inaccessible. Currently, most of the coal on the ship has also been dumped to the seabed, only about 400 tons are still in the cargo hold,” said Le Van Cach, the diving team leader. The group suspects that there are still crew members trapped in the ship. By 9am, the diving team still had no results.

Also on July 20, the search force increased contact with the captains of fishing boats operating or passing through this area to coordinate the search for the victim.

10 professional divers from Hai Phong continue to search for the remains of the ship. Photo: Thanh Duy.

Previously, at around 2am on July 17, the 5,100-ton VTB 26 ship, carrying 4,700 tons of coal, sent a distress signal while anchoring to avoid the storm at Hon Ngu Island (Nghe An). The ship was later discovered capsized. 13 crew members fell into the sea. On the first day of rescue, 7 crew members were rescued along with 2 other bodies. The ship sank about 3 nautical miles from shore, about 800m north of Hon Ngu Island. This area is about 10m deep.

Tien Hung