On Monday all five people aboard a fishing vessel that
shipwrecked due to a sudden strong tropical storm in the waters of
the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea have arrived in Kuala
Lumpur safely.
The five people, including four Chinese nationals and one
Malaysian, were rescued by the German container ship "Northern
Faith" last Friday just as their fishing ship "ZHU WAN 4209" was
sinking.
Captain Lothar Halbauer of the 35,500-tonage "Northern Faith"
said that he received a SOS call forwarded from maritime
authorities in Hong Kong, China, at around 17:32 last Friday when
his ship was en route to Europe.
The captain said that he did not hesitate to direct his ship
toward the spot after receiving the call, although he knew that
such a rescue mission might be fatal if the two ships collided in
the strong storm.
He noted that it was his legal maritime duty to attempt to save
the men.
"It is also the responsibility for seamen to save seamen
encountering the shipwreck," he added.
Wu Zewei, one of the four Chinese nationals rescued, told Xinhua
that he did not know how to express in words his thanks to the
captain when he boarded the "Northern Faith".
Wu said that they could only communicate with the German seamen
in sign language. The Chinese expressed their gratitude with
physical gestures, such as "saluting" and "shaking hands" with the
German friends.
Currently the five rescued crewmembers are in good health. The
Chinese Embassy in Malaysia is currently assisting the four Chinese
nationals with the necessary procedures to deliver them to
China.
(Xinhua News Agency August 7, 2007)
