Chairman of Phuoc Tinh Commune People's Committee, Phan Thach, said that the accident occurred while the fishing boat was operating at sea on May 11.
The two fishermen, aged 29 and 34 fell unconscious after they entered the fish storage cabin to take some tools. Other crew members rushed to take them out of the cabin but they were dead already.
"Initial investigations showed that the deaths were caused by poisonous fumes in the cabin, which had been storing seafood for a long period," Thach said, adding that such deadly accidents had occurred several times.
In 2019, four fishermen also died of asphyxiation after entering a fish storage cabin in their boat in the southern province of Kien Giang. The same year, two other fishermen in Ba Ria-Vung Tau also died from the same accident.
Local authorities are further investigating the case.
