According to one of the survivors, captain Kieu Van Nghiep, 45, they were four crew members from a boat that went to catch tuna off the Paracel Islands over two weeks ago. The trip was scheduled to last one month.
However, a crew member who is Nghiep's older brother, suddenly died of electric shock while fishing on the evening of October 15. Nghiep decided to end the trip and return to shore.
While travelling some 45 nautical miles (over 80 km) from Tam Quan Port, their boat was hit by strong winds and high waves which ultimately sunk the boat. Nghiep and two other crew members grasped some styrofoam pieces from the boat and tied them together to make a larger lifeguard.
"We had been very upset and couldn't eat much since my brother's death so we were very tired at that time," Nghiep said. "We let the lifeguard drift and hoped that someone could see us. We saw some passing boats but they didn't notice us. And then at noon on October 17, the rain stopped and I saw a passing boat. We took off our life jackets and waved them. They saw us and came to save us."
Vice head of the Pho Quang Border Guard Station, Nguyen Tung Duong, said that the three fishermen were taken to the station by a fishing boat which found them drifting at sea on October 17.
"We've called some doctors to give them health check-ups and they are now in stable condition," Duong said. "We've arranged transportation for them to return home.
The central and southern central sea have faced strong wind and high waves over the past few days due to the low tropical pressure and storm, causing some fish boats to sink.
According to the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre, two fishing boats sank due to bad weather off the Spratly Islands on Monday and Tuesday morning. In total, 78 fishermen were safely rescued by passing vessels, two died and 13 others remain missing.
