Vietnamese competent agencies are asking Malaysia authorities for help in searching for five Vietnamese fishermen who have gone missing since their vessel, with six crew members on board, sank in Malaysian waters on Saturday afternoon.

Viet Nam's National Committee for Search and Rescue (NCSR) said on Sunday, February 22, that it had asked the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Consular Department to notify the Malaysian authorities of the sinking of the boat, and requested their assistance in the search for the five missing fishermen.

The remaining fisherman was rescued by another Vietnamese fishing boat, the NCSR said, adding that the sunken ship was from Tien Giang Province.

A coastal area in Ca Mau Province

The boat, coded TG 90476 TS, sank at 2:00 pm on Saturday in Malaysian waters, about 150 nautical miles south-southwest from the Ca Mau Cape of the southernmost Vietnamese province of Ca Mau, according to a report to the NCSR by the Viet Nam Maritime Rescue and Coordination Center (Viet Nam MRCC).

The NCSR has also asked the Viet Nam MRCC to issue a marine notice about the incident and closely coordinate with its Malaysian counterpart to look for the missing fishermen.

The Tien Giang Province Steering Committee for Storm and Flood Prevention and Control and Search and Rescue and the local border guard force should mobilize fishing boats operating near the above waters to search for the victims, the NCSR said.

The two agencies should also coordinate with the owner of the sunken boat in the search, the NCSR added.