Waiting anxiously for the white sand
On Cua Viet beach (Nam Cua Viet commune, Quang Tri province), Ms. Quach Thi Hai Linh (born in 1996, from Thanh Hoa) sat quietly looking out to the sea. For the past three days, her eyes have been staring at the sea, where her brother - fisherman Quach Hai Lam (born in 1989) was swept away by waves, and his whereabouts are unknown.
Ms. Linh is the owner of two fishing vessels BV-4670TS and BV-0042TS. When storm No. 10 with big waves and strong winds entered the sea area of Quang Tri, the two new fishing boats entered Cua Viet to avoid the storm. Before reaching the anchorage point, one ship sank and the other ran aground. The disaster came unexpectedly, then the waves roared, sweeping away the brother she loved so much.
Recalling the fateful moment, Ms. Linh excitedly said that on the morning of September 28, she received a short call from a crew member on a fishing boat: "Sister, let's call the rescue team." After hearing that, and losing the signal, Ms. Linh knew something was wrong, immediately reported it to the authorities, and soon after received news of a ship in distress at Cua Viet beach.
She quickly took a bus to Quang Tri, and on the way, she heard that 8 crew members had been brought to shore, so she ran there in the hope of finding her brother. But among the exhausted faces, there are no relatives of her.
When she heard that he and another crew member were swept away by waves and went missing at sea, she seemed to have collapsed. "Mr. Lam has been attached to the ocean since he was very young, even in his youth, he was full of sunshine. He is not married and is the eldest brother in a family of five siblings. Now that I am missing like this, I can only sit and watch the sea, hoping for a miracle to happen" - Ms. Linh choked up.
Besides Ms. Linh, Mr. Pham Van Tan (born in 1988, Ninh Binh) - the brother-in-law of crew member Pham Van Hien (born in 1989) also looks out at the sea. He said that his father-in-law's parents were so shocked that they could not go to Quang Tri. He and his relatives immediately set off, just in time to get through the storm.
"Now the hope of survival is almost gone, the family just hopes to find the body to take him back to his hometown, to comfort his parents" - Mr. Tan choked up.
Efforts to search for missing victims
At the time of the incident, the two fishing boats were in distress on the morning of September 28, with 11 crew members on board. Of these, 8 crew members on fishing boat BV-4670TS were rescued and brought to shore; 3 crew members on boat BV-0042TS were swept away by waves, luckily 1 person clung to the marine lamp post and tried to swim to shore and was successfully rescued.
Among the escapees, Nguyen Thanh Phong (born in 1994, An Giang) was still shocked. He witnessed the moment the BV-0042TS ship was sunk by waves, the three boatmates stood at the bow of the ship, grabbed a rope and were swept away.
"We were just a few hundred meters away, seeing clearly the scene of our brothers being swept away by waves and helpless. That scene will haunt me for the rest of my life, said Mr. Phong, his eyes wide-opened.
Present at Cua Viet beach on the morning of October 1, the waves in this area were calm, the sky was sunny, fishing boats lined up to go to sea, but the families of the missing people were still worried.
Major Tran Minh Hai - Deputy Head of Cua Viet Commune Police - said that the authorities had built a tents right at Nam Cua Viet beach as a temporary rest stop for the relatives of the missing crew member.
"We coordinate with local authorities to search along the coast, continuously updating information to promptly inform the family" - Major Hai informed.
It is known that on September 30, the Quang Tri Provincial Civil Defense Command established a Forward Command Headquarters located at Border Guard Squadron 1 (Bac Trach Commune, Quang Tri Province) and a Light Command Headquarters located at Border Guard Squadron 2 (Nam Cua Viet Commune, Quang Tri Province). The forces participating in the search at sea include 2 ships of the regular militia squadron; 6 boats of the Provincial Border Guard; SAR 631 ship of the Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center Region 2 - deployed to support the search for 2 fishermen in the missing fishing boat BV-0042TS and 6 crew members on 2 missing fishing boats in the northern sea of Quang Tri province on the evening of September 28.
