Among the fishermen who are ‘born to dive’ on Ly Son Island in the central province of Quang Ngai, most talented men form teams to salvage wreckage when necessary in the East Sea.

They join deep sea diving voyages to search for ships and human remains of soldiers from the Vietnamese Navy that were shot and destroyed by Chinese war ships near Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago in 1988.

The diving teams also take part in searching for pilots and crashed Vietnamese army planes in the sea.

In a normal situation, their job is to search for scrap iron and antiques from wrecked ships previously traveling on the sea, which is at a crossroad of maritime routes connecting Europe and the Americas with Asia.

The ship Thanh Cong 07, owned by Vo Van Chuc in Ly Son, is part of such a private rescue force.

Searching for planes on the seabed

In 2007, training plane L-39 of the Vietnam Air Force unluckily crashed into a big bird in the air and dropped into the sea after the glass window of the cabin broke. The plane went down in the waters of Ninh Phuoc off the central province of Ninh Thuan.

Two pilots, Tran Van Deo and Le Lam Phuong, died in the accident.

The Thanh Cong 07, which was then working in the southern sea near Truong Sa, was assigned to search for the location of the plane on the seabed and the diving job was covered by a team of divers from northern Hai Phong city.

Collecting necessary information from relevant authorities about the air route and coordinates of the plane before the accident, divers of Thanh Cong 07 were almost able to pinpoint the location. They sped up the ship to their forecasted site. Without protective clothes, flippers, or air tanks, they donned only snorkels and goggles and jumped into sea.

Their forecast was correct, thanks to changes in the color of the sea water. The location of the crashed plane was identified.

Half of the job was done.

The owner, Chuc, was awarded VND10 million (US$480) by officials from the army but he returned it, saying, “I have no heart to receive it upon seeing you in a more strenuous situation.”

The plane was at a depth of 35-45 meters, but Hai Phong divers failed to access it after two days of attempts. Some were even injured by the water pressure.

The job was then transferred to the Ly Son divers on the Thanh Cong 07 ship.

After two days of work, Ly Son divers found and retrieved the black box beneath the pilot's seat and the remains of the damaged bodies of the pilots.

Death after death

While diving in search of the remains of soldiers on the HQ-604 ship, which was wrecked by Chinese mortar shells near Gac Ma Island in Truong Sa, a diver from the ship – Pham Vinh – died.

“We can dive, and so our conscience urged us to dive in search of the remains of martyrs still lying on the seabed to help give relief to their relatives.

“They died for the safety of others, so how can we compare them?” Chuc said honestly.

It is a duty to search for them, but it’s unlucky that a diver of the ship passed away on the job, he added.

Colonel Duong Hong Truong, head of Air Regiment 910, recalled, “Naval sappers were sent to the site for search and salvage but they failed. So the High Command of the Air Force decided to ask for help from the Ly Son divers.

“They didn’t look professional in appearance but gave a talented and effective performance.

“Thanks to their help, we found the planes and bodies of the two pilots.”