Three fishermen were confirmed dead and two others missing after
their fishing boat sank in the sea waters closed to Zhuhai, a
coastal city of south China's Guangdong Province, early Sunday morning,
according to local salvage authorities.
Four fishermen have been rescued.
An official with the Nanhai (South China Sea) Salvage Bureau
under the Ministry of Communications said they received a call from
Guangdong Provincial Rescue Information Center at 3:38 a.m. Sunday,
saying a fishing boat was sinking in the sea area about 23 nautical
miles southeast to the Gaolan Port of Zhuhai City and asking for
help.
The Nanhai Salvage Bureau immediately sent a large-sized ship to
the accident site. As of 8:00 AM, rescuers found two fishermen, one
of whom was dead.
The Guangdong Provincial Rescue Center also contacted Hong Kong
government, which dispatched two helicopters and one fixed wing
aircraft to join the rescue operation at 6:42 AM. Later four
fishermen were found, one of whom was dead.
Rescuers on a coastguard vessel recovered the body of one more
fisherman around the same time.
The survivors said that there were nine fishermen aboard the
ill-fated ZHANJING-00029 fishing boat. "Sea water surged into the
boat due to strong wind and high waves, leading to the sinkage of
the boat," they said.
Search for the two missing fishermen was still underway.
(Xinhua News Agency January 7, 2007)
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