Three out of 26 crew members boarding two fishing boats from the south-central Vietnamese province of Binh Dinh that went missing on Tuesday while on their way to storm shelters have been rescued by a foreign cargo ship.

The Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control of Binh Dinh Province confirmed the rescue, Tran Van Phuc, acting director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said on Thursday night.

Accordingly, Hong Kong's cargo ship M/V Fortune Iris on its way from Singapore to Japan rescued Le Minh Don, 20, Phi, 35, and Hoai, 35, all of whom are crew members aboard the fishing boat numbered BD 97469 TS and captained by Vo Ngoc Do.

On Tuesday, the three rescued men and 11 other fishermen on the boat lost contact with the mainland after the vessel capsized 172 nautical miles (318.5 km) east of Hon Tre Island off south-central Khanh Hoa Province.

After saving the three Vietnamese fishermen, the captain of M/V Fortune Iris contacted the Nha Trang Coastal Radio Station in Khanh Hoa to inform that his team was taking care of the trio.

During the connection, fisherman Le Minh Don also revealed that two out of his other teammates drowned after the Binh Dinh boat sank, five died at sea due to exhaustion, and four went missing.

A source told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that all three Vietnamese men have been transferred to Vietnam’s rescue ship KN 490 to receive proper care.

Apart from the fishing boat BD 97469 TS, the fishing vessel numbered BD 96388 TS and owned by Le Van Minh from Binh Dinh’s Hoai Nhon District, carrying 12 crew members, sank at around 1:00 pm on Tuesday while it was about 143.5 nautical miles (265.7 km) offshore in Khanh Hoa’s Cam Ranh Bay area.

The Vietnamese army’s rescue forces and the Vietnam Fisheries Resources Surveillance Force have sent five surveillance boats and several naval helicopters to the sea to search for victims.

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