Search continues for 10 crew members of Vandon Ace in distress at sea
VOV.VN - Rescue workers have rescued nine crew members and are searching for another 10 aboard the Vandon Ace that broke down and drifted for hours in the waters off Vung Tau city of Vietnam.
Vietnamese flagship Vandon Ace was carrying 5,800 m3 of timber from Rabaul port (Papua New Guinea) to Can Tho (Vietnam) when the incident happened at around 15.30 Wednesday (Feb. 23). The engine broke down and the ship tilted 15 degrees.
A total of 19 crew members on board the ship are Vietnamese.
At 16.00 o'clock, the ship drifted to a position, about 160 nautical miles southeast of Vung Tau. The crew announced that they would disembark the ship and get on the raft. Communication was interrupted shortly thereafter.
On hearing the news, the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center (Vietnam MRCC) urgently coordinated with relevant agencies and several ships operating around the site to deploy rescue work.
At midnight, the MSC Rapallo of Liberia discovered and rescued four Vandon Ace crew members wearing life jackets.
Hours later, the ship SAR 413 of Vietnam saved five more sailors drifting on rafts.
Search will continue throughout the day despite strong winds and rough seas, according to Vietnam MRCC.