At around 9:00 a.m. on April 8, Squadron 2 - Nghe An Border Guard received information from the An Minh Phat 88 ship, saying it had discovered a body drifting at sea. The male victim, the body in the process of decomposing, was found in the area between Mat Island and Song Ngu Island, near the location of the NA 80-209-TS fishing boat that had previously had an accident.
Immediately after receiving the information, the authorities coordinated with the local authorities and the family of the crew members to be missing and related parties to verify the body's identity. The discovery of this body continues to be an important claim in identifying the victims and supporting the family to complete the post -incident procedure.
Previously, on March 17, 2025, the NA 80209-TS fishing boat (320CV capacity, nearly 15 meters long, built in 2011) left Lach Quyen wharf (Quynh Luu district, Nghe An) to go out to sea to fish. However, on the afternoon of March 18, when the ship was on its way back due to a timing failure, the ship sank at coordinates 18°52'N - 105°56'E, about 5 nautical miles from Mat Island.
At that time, there were 4 crew members on the boat, including captain Nguyen Van Cuong (born in 1980), fishermen Tran Van Huu (born in 1995), Le Tuan Anh (born in 2005) and Bui Sy Nhat (born in 1977), all residing in Quynh Luu district, Nghe An. After the accident, only Mr. Tran Van Huu was lucky to be discovered and saved by Ha Tinh fishermen on the morning of March 19, while the remaining three people were missing.
After the accident, authorities and people made efforts to search and discovered the bodies drifting ashore. On March 29, people in Xuan Lien commune (Nghi Xuan district, Ha Tinh) discovered the body of Mr. Bui Sy Nhat. Then, on March 30, another body was found in Cuong Gian commune (Nghi Xuan district), confirmed to be captain Nguyen Van Cuong.
The discovery of additional bodies on the morning of April 8 has helped authorities get closer to completing the identification of the victims and supporting the crew members' families in completing funeral procedures.
The authorities continue to investigate the cause of the ship sinking and fix the problem in the rescue work.
