13 fishermen brought home after boat sinks

Thirteen fishermen whose boat sank after colliding with a cargo ship off the southern coastal province of Binh Dinh have been safely brought to shore, according to local authorities.

Thirteen fishermen whose boat sank after colliding with a cargo ship off the southern coastal province of Binh Dinh have been safely brought to shore, according to local authorities.

Thirteen fishermen are brought home in Binh Dinh Province on May 2

The fishermen and the body of a crewman who died in the accident were taken home by the cargo ship, Mariana from Micronesia on Tuesday evening.

Authorities in Quy Nhon Port and relevant agencies of Binh Dinh Province had sent out rescue forces to take the fishermen from the cargo ship.

The fishermen who looked all exhausted with some injuries were then given medical treatment.

The crewmen received financial support from local authorities after arriving home on May 2.

According to the fishing boat's captain, Ngo Truong Trung, 46, they were anchoring at some 23 nautical miles from Quy Nhon City when hit by the cargo ship.

"Our boat sunk shortly after the collision," Trung said. "The cargo ship then left. We didn't think we would survive. Luckily two of us managed to climb on to the cargo ship and ask them to return to rescue the rest."

The captain said that they were given first aid by the crew on the cargo ship and were able to send Nguyen Hung Sang who had serious injuries home first for treatment.

"We're lucky to survive, but now we lost our newly-built boat which cost some VND6 billion (USD265,196) and I want the cargo ship to compensate us so that we can build a new boat to continue our work," Trung added.