VOV.VN -A fishing vessel was rescued at sea off the coast of Hoang Sa island on April 30, saving the lives of the 52 fishermen on board. The Zone II Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (Da Nang MRCC) sent out a rescue ship to help crew members after receiving an SOS message from a fishing boat coded QNa 90129 TS.

Photo: Nhan Dan

The boat was being captained by Luong Van Vien and had 51 other crew members aboard when it ran into trouble fishing in the waters of Hoang Sa island at 10:00 on April 30. The boat was located at latitude 17011’N and longitude 112002’E, roughly 10 nautical miles from Da Bac island.

The 43-year-old captain and the crew members aboard identified the issue as engine failure. Upon being unable to repair the engine, they decided to send out a distress signal. By 20:50 on May 1, the boat was at risk of sinking as it had drifted into dangerous waters containing many reefs.

Upon hearing the news of the vessel adrift at sea, Da Nang MRCC dispatched the rescue ship SAR 412 to initiate a search for the fishing boat.

At 6:20 on May 2, the fishing boat with all 52 fishermen on board was rescued and towed safely to the port in Danang.