One Missing After Fishing Boat Sinks in South China Sea

On October 7, the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center (VMRCC) received an emergency alert after a collision occurred in the South China Sea between the cargo vessel Thuan Trung 08 and the fishing boat TTH 96329 TS. The incident took place at approximately 3:45 p.m. local time, about 10 nautical miles north-northwest of the Thuan An Estuary in Thua Thien Hue province.

The impact caused the fishing vessel, which had four people on board, to sink amid easterly winds of force 4 to 5 on the Beaufort scale.

Three of the fishermen were rescued by Thuan Trung 08 and safely transferred to shore, where they were handed over to local authorities for medical evaluation and official processing. One crew member, however, remains unaccounted for.

The VMRCC quickly deployed the rescue ship SAR 631 to assist in the search effort. As of the morning of October 8, rescue teams and local authorities were continuing operations in difficult sea conditions to locate the missing fisherman.