Three crew members died while six others remained missing after their coal ship sank off the island of Co To in northern Quang Ninh Province on December 18, the local Steering Board for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control and Search and Rescue reported.
At about 3 pm Sunday, Huong Dien 09 ship with nine crew members aboard sank in an area about 49 nautical miles southeast of Ha Long Bay, the Board said.
The bodies of the three victims were found at noon today, said Pham Dinh Hoa, Chief of the Secretariat of the Board.
A source said that the ship’s engine broke down and the crew could not control the ship, which later capsized and sank, Hoa said.
“It was not until the ship began sinking that the crew called the rescue force. I do not know why they did not inform the force when the engine stopped working. The ship was far from the shore when it sank, so rescue ships could not come in time to save them,” he said.
The provincial border guard force and the rescue boats of the Maritime Search and Rescue Center in Zone II continued their efforts to search for the missing crew members, he added.
The ship is owned by Huong Dien Co Ltd in Thai Thuy District, Thai Binh Province.
