Nine bodies recovered from Ba Ria-Vung Tau sunken ship

The bodies of nine missing crewmen whose ship sank off the coast of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province have been recovered.

The bodies of nine missing crewmen whose ship sank off the coast of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province have been recovered.

The divers found the location of the sunken ship on March 30 and confirmed that there are bodies of the crewmen trapped inside. Eight divers of Vietnam Salvage and Rescue Company and five more divers searched through the night to bring six bodies to the shore on March 31.

The last bodies were found and recovered on April 1 morning.

   

Bodies of the crewmen recovered on March 31.

At the early morning of March 28, the Hai Thanh 26 BLC signalled for help. The ship was carrying 11 crewmen at the time and transporting clinker from Hai Phong to Can Tho City. A Petrolimex vessel found two crewmen on a buoy.

Hoang Tien Khoi, one of the crewmen on Hai Thanh 26 said the Hai Thanh 26 had collided with another ship at 11.55 pm on March 27 and sank. They haven't been able to identify the ship that sank them.

Crew on the Petrolimex 14 vessel said they had collided with a ship and then began a search for it.

Truong Van Minh, deputy director of Vitaco Oil Transport JSC-owner of the Petrolimex 14 and a member of Petrolimex Group-said it's highly likely that their ship had crashed with Hai Thanh 26. "But we haven't been able to determine the circumstances. The case is still under investigation," he said.

The Vitaco Oil Transport JSC provided the families of the crew VND100m (USD4,400) each and VND50m for two injured men. Bui Thanh Nghia, chairman of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Fatherland Front, also provided each family with VND10m.