32 fishermen rescued, 19 people with unknown whereabouts
On the morning of September 12, a clip circulated on social networks recording the scene of a fishing boat of fishermen in Hoai Nhon ward (Gia Lai) rescuing 32 fishermen in distress at sea. The clip has attracted millions of views and thousands of comments.
Images in the clip were recorded during the process of fishing vessel BD-98960-TS participating in rescuing fishermen in distress at sea on August 28.
Through verification, at about 10:35 am on August 28, Mr. Nguyen Van Huu (born 1986, residing in Hoai Nhon ward) - captain of fishing vessel BD-98960-TS - called via long-range radio system (U8930) to inform Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai (born 1976, residing in Hoai Nhon ward; vessel owner) about the discovery of many fishermen drifting at sea. After that, Ms. Mai went to Tam Quan Nam Border Guard Station to report the incident.
According to Tam Quan Nam Border Guard Station, the location where the fishermen were discovered was about 51 nautical miles east of Ba Ke Island, Truong Sa archipelago. From 9:50 AM to 10:35 AM on the same day, fishing vessel BD-98960-TS rescued 28 fishermen showing signs of exhaustion and fatigue.
Captain Huu also contacted the Coast Guard force, informing the location of fishing vessel BD-98960-TS to request support in receiving fishermen and searching for people who may still be drifting at sea.
By 1:25 PM on the same day, the total number of fishermen rescued was 32 people. Among them, fishing boat BD-98960-TS rescued 2 more people, bringing the total number of fishermen rescued to 30 people, then handed over to Coast Guard Vessel Region 3; fishing boat BD-98848-TS captained by Mr. Nguyen Van Ngoc (born 1986, residing in Hoai Nhon Dong ward), rescued 2 fishermen.
Through verification, the 32 rescued fishermen are crew members on fishing vessel QNa-90859-TS, with 51 crew members, who lost contact from 12:54 pm on August 22. Currently, the remaining 19 crew members are still missing.
The journey to rescue 30 fishermen struggling in the sea
Talking to Lao Dong newspaper at noon on September 12, captain Nguyen Van Huu confirmed that the clip of rescuing fishermen spreading on social networks was recorded by him himself, and then shared with the crew members to post.
After completing the rescue and handover of 30 fishermen, fishing vessel BD-98960-TS continued fishing and encountered a engine failure. The vessel was towed and docked at Hon Ro port (Khanh Hoa) at 1 am on September 12.
Captain Huu recounted that after ship QNa-90859-TS lost signal, the ship's captain's wife called Mr. Huu's wife, informed her of the incident and asked for support because she knew Mr. Huu's ship was near through the signal system. Upon receiving the news, Mr. Huu's wife immediately contacted and informed him of the situation.
At the time of approach, many fishermen were in a very weak condition, exhausted after many days of starvation, drifting at sea and having to cling to lifebuoys to keep themselves on the water.
Because many people could not survive, I had to contact and hand them over immediately to the functional forces to ensure safety. I also contacted fishing vessel BD-98848-TS to support the rescue and search for the remaining fishermen," Mr. Huu said.
Mr. Huu said that in addition to the ship's engine failure, this sea trip also cost fuel and supplies, with a total damage of about 250 million VND. This damage is borne by him and the ship owner.
Seeing fishermen in distress at sea, how can I abandon them for good. Saving them is what I have to do, I am proud of that. I just hope the State and levels will pay attention to help and support to compensate for the losses of this sea trip, so that fishermen can rest assured to stick to the sea," Captain Huu expressed.
