Sunken ship located off Nha Trang, 8 sailors still missing
Monday, November 17, 2014, 13:50 GMT+7
The cargo vessel that sank in a collision off Nha Trang in south-central Vietnam over a week ago has been identified, while eight missing sailors remain unfound, the National Committee for Search and Rescue said on Sunday.
>> Three rescued, eight missing after ship collision off south-central Vietnam
The ship, the Phuc Xuan 68, which collided with the Nam Vy 09, another cargo boat, on November 9, was found lying on the sea bed 92 meters below the surface about 3.2 nautical miles from Cam Ranh Bay and 10.7 nautical miles from Nha Trang.
Meanwhile, efforts to search for eight sailors from the Phuc Xuan 68 continue with six boats and canoes deployed around the area where the ship sank, the committee said. The committee has reported the finding of the sunken ship to its owner, the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center. As previously reported, the collision occurred at 1:30 am on November 9 when the Phuc Xuan 68, from the northern province of Thai Binh, collided with the Nam Vy 69, from Hai Duong province, also in northern Vietnam, about 15 nautical miles south of Nha Trang.
The collision caused the Phuc Xuan 68 to sink, along with all 11 crew members, while the crew of the Nam Vy suffered no casualties.
The Nam Vy crew later found and rescued three of the 11 sailors from the other ship.
The rescued sailors are deck officer Nguyen Van Hau, 31; chief mechanic Ha Hong Thai, 37; and sailor Le Xuan Ru, 50.
Immediately after receiving a report about the incident, the Nha Trang Port Authority, the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center (Vietnam MRCC) in Zone 4 and the Khanh Hoa Province Headquarters of the Border Guard sent five rescue ships to the scene to search for the missing men.
Nguyen Anh Vu, general director of the Vietnam MRCC, said the prow of the Nam Vy pierced the cargo hold of the Phuc Xuan 68, flooding the ship and causing it to sink.
The Nam Vy only suffered damage to its prow, he added.
Efforts to find the eight missing sailors are underway.
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