As per request of the Office of the Viet Nam National Committee for Incidents, Disaster Response and Search and Rescue, the Viet Nam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre has issued a notice requiring all ships operating at sea to join the ongoing search for two people still missing in the waters off Da Nang.

Ms. Huynh Chau Ngoc Ha was rescued by fishermen and safely taken to Cua Dai Border Guard Station. Photo: NDO

Relevant agencies in Da Nang and the neighbouring provinces of Quang Nam and Thua Thien Hue are racing against time to speed up the search and rescue.

Previously, at around 11:00 am on December 20, Ms. Huynh Chau Ngoc Ha, a 25-year- old resident in Ho Chi Minh City, along with her friend Nguyen Thi Quynh Nhi dwelling at 33/21 Mr. Ich Khiem, Thanh Binh Ward, Hai Chau District, Da Nang and a person named Khiem, rented kayaks heading out to Thanh Vinh sea waters off Son Tra District, Da Nang.

Unfortunately, their kayaks were in distress, overturned by high waves at sea and then drifted ashore.

On the morning of December 21, in the waters off Hon Kho, the Cham Islands, known in Vietnamese as Cu Lao Cham, Quang Nam Province, fishermen onboard the fishing boat QNa 03265TS saved Ms Ha only.

Meanwhile, Nhi and Khiem are still missing.

Reporting by HOANG HIEP – Translating by A. THU