Rescuers Search South China Sea for 23 Missing After Vietnamese Vessel Sinks

Photos taken from X platform

Vietnamese cargo ship members being rescued.

Rescuers were searching on Sunday for 23 missing people after a Vietnamese cargo ship carrying 62 crew members sank in the South China Sea, Chinese state media reported this morning.

The cargo vessel Khoi Nguyen 18 encountered trouble near Yongshu Reef, also known as Fiery Cross Reef, state broadcaster CCTV reported, adding that 39 people had been rescued.

A Chinese rescue vessel first spotted what was believed to be a distress signal from the endangered ship shortly before 6.30pm yesterday (1030 GMT/6.30pm Malaysian time), state news agency Xinhua said.

Six Chinese vessels and a rescue helicopter as well as one Vietnamese vessel were conducting search and rescue operations in the area, Xinhua said.

The Vietnamese-registered vessel, Khoi Nguyen 18, ‌is ⁠nearly 70 m (230 ft) long with a gross tonnage of 999 tons, according to authorities in the Chinese island province of Hainan.

The area around the reef is part of the disputed Spratly Islands, which China calls the Nansha Islands, ⁠a group of highly contested reefs, islets, and atolls in the resource-rich South China Sea.



PUKMEDIA