The search for 19 sailors missing after two separate accidents
in South China's Beibu Gulf is continuing, rescuers said on
Sunday.
The accidents, involving a total of 35 sailors, occurred in the
early hours of Friday and Saturday. Sixteen sailors have been
rescued so far.
All twelve crewmembers of "Qionglingao 10021" are missing. The
fishing boat, which was carrying 50 tons, capsized 33 nautical
miles (61 kilometers) northwest of Yangpu Harbor in Hainan
Province at 2 AM on Friday. They were still unaccounted for
after two days of rescue efforts.
A helicopter and three rescue boats have been dispatched to the
area to search for survivors and the operation is reportedly
ongoing. The reason for the sinking of the fishing boat is as yet
unknown.
"Zhehai No.308," a freighter carrying over 5,400 tons of rolled
steel, was heading from Jingtang Harbor in the northern province of
Hebei
to Vietnam when it suddenly sank early Saturday morning.
A source from the Nanhai Salvage Bureau of the Ministry of
Communications said two salvage vessels and one helicopter have
been dispatched to search for the remaining missing sailors in the
sea areas at and around the accident site.
The second mate, among the sixteen rescued, recalled that the
cargo ship began tilting to one side at around 4 AM, probably due
to cargo movement, and sank quickly at about 5 AM.
He said some of the sailors aboard managed to escape on its only
life raft.
It is reported that the Beibu Gulf has been experiencing bad
weather with strong winds of force 7 to 8, with the height of some
waves reaching 3 to 4 meters.
(China Daily February 21, 2005)