Three fishermen have remained nowhere to be found after a fishing boat exploded due to an engine problem off the southern Vietnamese province of Kien Giang on Friday evening.

Three victims were still missing at 7:00 pm on Saturday following the boat explosion that happened near Phu Quoc Island, a famous tourist destination off Kien Giang Province, according to the 4^th Regional Command under the Vietnam People’s Navy.

The fishing ship carrying nine fishers and owned by Nguyen Thanh Nha was operating in the maritime area when it blew up at around 4:50 pm.

A rescue craft and a speedboat were dispatched to the scene shortly after the incident to provide assistance for the victims.

Four people were brought to safety one hour later, including Tran Van Son, 54, Tran Van Tiep, 52, Tran Van Den, 30, and Phan Thanh Sang, 50, after they managed to hang onto several wooden planks.

Son sustained minor injuries as he was standing near the prow of the vessel, while the other three suffered severe burns, with Tiep’s leg also broken.

The wounded victims were treated at the Phu Quoc General Hospital, whose health conditions have been stable.

According to Sang, he and his crew members had fished for about 20 minutes before noticing a strange noise coming from the engine of the boat.

Sang, Tiep, and Den went down to the bilge where the engine was located, attempting to fix the problem until the ship exploded, knocking everyone into the ocean, Sang recounted.

The three missing victims, who are named Cuong, Dang, and Tung, were standing near the windows of the bilge, the fisher added.

Search is still underway for the missing fishermen.

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