A collision between two cargo ships occurred off Vung Tau City late Thursday, causing 15 containers and 19 crewmembers to fall into the sea. These sailors were rescued and taken ashore safely, authorities reported. The incident happened at 10:30 pm in the water at Buoy No 2 off of Vung Tau. It involved the container ship Heung- A Dragon, of South Korea nationality, and the cargo ship Elani, of Majuro nationality. After the collision, Heung- A Dragon sank to the left side, causing 19 sailors and 15 containers to fall into the sea, while the other ship suffered damage to its prow.  Both ships used life buoys to rescue all the crewmembers and sent SOS messages.   After being informed of the incident, the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center sent rescuers to the scene and brought all crewmembers of both boats safely ashore.

Le Van Chien, director of the Vung Tau Port Authority have visted the rescued saliors of Heung- A Dragon.  

Director of the Vung Tau Port Authority Le Van Chien talks with one of the rescued sailors of Heung- A Dragon (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

The Vung Tau Port Authority and the Ba Ria-Vung Tau province Border Guard Command have also sent staff to the collision site to handle the incident and prevent ships from entering the area as they could hit floating containers. The collision happened when Heung- A Dragon was on the way to Ho Chi Minh City while Elani had just left Vung Tau after unloading cargo at the Phu My Port. This morning, Heung A Dragon, after drifting at sea, ran aground on a reef about 400 meters off Vung Tau.