At 7.20am on 14 August, 43-year-old fisherman Van Dan on board fishing boat DNa90426 TS from Da Nang had part of his right arm severely injured whilst his vessel was fishing at latitude 15°39’N and longitude 111°45’E.  The location was about 280 nautical miles east of the Da Nang coast, and around 105 nautical miles from Tri Ton Island in Viet Nam’s Hoang Sa Archipelago.  The fisherman was in a very critical condition with severe blood loss, and he was unconscious.

After receiving an SOS message, the Viet Nam Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre (Viet Nam MRCC) sent out rescue ship SAR 412 from the Zone II Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (Da Nang MRCC) to rescue the injured fisherman.

Rescuers transferring the sick fisherman to their ship (photo: soha.vn)

While the ship was en route to the patient in the waters between the islands of Bombay and Tri Ton, a Chinese naval ship approached and asked the Vietnamese rescue ship to leave the area.  However, the Vietnamese rescuers maintained course in their determination to bring the victim to the mainland for treatment as quickly as possible.

The rescue ship eventually reached the fishing boat at 10.30pm the same day, and the patient was transferred to the ship for initial first aid.

At 11.15 am the following day, the victim arrived safely back in Da Nang for treatment.