Two fishermen from Da Nang have been rescued off the coast of neighbouring Quang Nam Province after their boat turned adrift in bad weather conditions at sea.

A scene of the rescue of the two Da Nang fishermen (Photo: Nhan Dan Newspaper)

At around 8.00am on Tuesday, the fishing boat DN 90289 TS captained by Mr Tu Van Teo from Nai Hien Dong Ward, Son Tra District, Da Nang, suddenly took on water due to the negative impact of the bad weather at sea, and water was steadily rising in the engine-room bilges.

This incident left the fishing boat adrift at latitude 16°00’N and longitude 108°40’E, especially in rough seas, sea waves of 3m high, and strong winds of levels 6-7.

Fishermen onboard made a distress call to the Viet Nam Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (Viet Nam MRCC) for assistance. This tough challenge drove all of the boat's crew members into panic.

After receiving an SOS message from the boat’s crewmembers, the Viet Nam MRCC reported the incident to search and rescue agencies for timely support, and asked fishing vessels operating in the vicinity to enhance their observation, and give timely assistance to the distressed vessel pending the arrival of rescuers.

The crew members were urged to prepare life-saving equipment, communications equipment, and leave the ship to get onboard a small coracle. At that time, they were in a state of exhaustion, hypothermia and anxiety.

Also in a prompt fashion, Viet Nam MRCC asked SAR 412 rescue boat from the Da Nang MRCC to help the victims.

After tense hours of facing high waves and strong wind, at around 10.40am on the same day, SAR 412 reached the distressed ship. The two crew members were, then, transferred to the rescue ship for first aid.

Later, at 12:45pm, all the crewmembers were safely brought back to the Da Nang mainland for further care, and all of them are mentally and physically stable.

Under the impacts of an ongoing cold spell, there is the possibility of level 6 - 7 gale winds, rough seas and sea waves from 1.5 – 3 m high in waters off central regional areas from Quang Binh to Quang Ngai, including Da Nang. All Vietnamese fishing boats operating at sea must be well informed of the harsh weather conditions to avoid any unexpected incidents at sea.

By Nhan Dan Newspaper- Translated by A.T