Three crew members are suspected to have died from asphyxiation on a cargo vessel near Ca Na Port in Khanh Hoa Province, authorities said.
Khanh Hoa Province authorities deploy rescue operations on the cargo ship where three people were in distress on March 16 (Photo: Khanh Hoa Province Police).
The Khanh Hoa Provincial Police Department said on March 17 that rescue forces had been deployed to the ship following reports of missing crew.
According to police, the incident occurred on the afternoon of March 16, when the cargo ship Truong Nguyen 18 was anchored outside Trung Nam Ca Na Port, awaiting clearance to enter for loading.
At around 6 pm, crew member Tran Duc Tai, 45, entered the ship’s hold, more than two metres deep, to pump out water. When he failed to return, another crew member, Thai Van Thinh, 25, went to search for him but also did not come back.
A third crew member, Pham Huu Phuong, noticed the situation and raised the alarm, requesting emergency assistance.
Police and rescue teams were dispatched to the scene and used specialised equipment to search the vessel.
The victims were later found trapped in the ship’s ballast water tank, a submerged compartment with insufficient oxygen.
In addition to Tai and Thinh, authorities discovered the body of a third crew member inside the tank.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing.