4 of 5 fishermen missing off southern Vietnam rescued; search underway for captain

February 24, 2015 | 09:13

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Vietnamese fishing boats have rescued four of the five fishermen who had gone missing since their vessel, with six crew members aboard, sank off the southernmost Vietnamese province of Ca Mau on Saturday afternoon.

The Vietnam Maritime Rescue and Coordination Center (Vietnam MRCC) released the good news this morning, February 23, adding that rescue efforts are underway to search for the other, who is the captain.

These boats that saved the four sailors have been mobilized by Vietnamese competent agencies to the scene to join the search for the missing fishermen of the boat in distress, the Vietnam MRCC said.

This boat, coded TG 02629 TS, not TG 90476 TS as previously reported by local media, sank about 165 nautical miles south of the Ca Mau Cape of Ca Mau Province at 2:00 pm on Saturday due to a gas explosion on board, according to the Vietnam MRCC.

When the boat, which is from the southern province of Tien Giang, was wrecked, five of the six crew members went missing while the other was rescued soon later by another Vietnamese fishing boat, the Vietnam MRCC said.

The Tien Giang Province Steering Committee for Storm and Flood Prevention and Control and Search and Rescue and the local border guard force should mobilize fishing boats operating near the above waters to search for the victims, the National Committee for Search and Rescue said.

The owner of the sunken boat is Huynh Van Ri, a man coming from Tien Giang.

Six crew members of the wrecked boat are listed as below:

1. Huynh Tan Dat, 43, captain, from the central province of Quang Ngai (still missing)
2. Huynh Tan Kiet, 34, from Quang Ngai
3. Nguyen Van Toan, 47, from Tien Giang
4. Truong Anh Kiet, 22, from Tien Giang
5. Nguyen Van Kha, 35, from Tien Giang
6. Tran Van Dung, 45, from Tien Giang