People in Binh Chau Fishing Village are spreading a story about nine local fishermen who had just made a miraculous return home. Many came to the house of captain Nguyen Van No to share their happiness after his crew returned safe and sound.
Friends and relatives come to visit the returned fishermen on November 28
The 28-year-old man still looked tired but was happy to see his friends and relatives again. He said that he and eight other crew members had been brought home by a naval ship on Sunday evening. They were given good care and have all improved.
"We were lucky to be saved and we're safe now but two other crew members are still missing," No said with a sign. "I also lost my boat which sank at sea."
No recalled that the tragedy occurred on the evening of November 1 when he was rowing his boat near the Spratly Islands. The weather suddenly turned bad with strong winds. And his boat capsized at about 8 pm, throwing all 11 crew members to the sea.
Nguyen Van No
Nine of them managed to swim back to the half-sinking boat at which point two crew went missing. The boat drifted to a reef the next afternoon and they climbed onto it to await rescue.
"The reef is about two square kilometres," the fisherman remembered. "It would be nearly inundated when the tide rose up, and we had to hold one another to avoid being washed away. But then we became exhausted as we didn't have any food and drinks with us. Luckily we found two bottles of water with 1.50 litres of water drifting to the reef. We all wanted to drink up the water but then we decided that we have to save it so that we can survive longer. When the water nearly ran out on the fourth day, it rained and we survived two more days before being rescued."
The fisherman said that when they were going to die of hunger and thirst on the sixth day, they suddenly saw a fishing boat approaching. And they tried to send help signals using their clothes.
According to the captain of the fishing boat QNg 90671TS, Nguyen Tan Ngot, he immediately rushed to the reef when seeing the men waving for help.
Nguyen Tan Ngot
"They were all nearly dying then," Ngot recalled. "After taking them aboard, we gave them first aid and some light food and drinks while rushing them to Son Ca Island to seek support from the navy. The nine fishermen stayed on Son Ca Island for further treatment before being brought home yesterday."
