A huge ship has sunk in the South China Sea after being snapped in two on Saturday. Dozens of crew are feared dead in the incident. Emergency officials have rescued three crew members from the ship.
The industrial support ship sunk due to a storm. Hong Kong Government Flying Service released pictures that show one crew member being winched up to a rescue helicopter as big waves lashed the sinking ship.
Name And The Origin Of The Vessel Not Revealed
Despite the incident being major, the name and the origin of the vessel have not been revealed by the Flying Service.
The engineering vessel, which was 160 nautical miles (296km) southwest of Hong Kong, "suffered substantial damage and broke into two pieces" and the 30-member crew abandoned ship, according to the Flying Service. It said in a statement that crew members were negotiating difficulties brought on by severe tropical storm Chaba, which was packing maximum winds of 110 kilometers (68 miles) per hour, according to AP News.
Videos emerged on the internet show the ship broke into two pieces in the waters amid the severe tropical storm, which was hampering the rescue efforts.
The video, which appears to be shot from a helicopter, also shows three crew members being rescued from the scene.
Severe Tropical Storm Chaba Created Difficulties For The Ship
Chaba made landfall later on Saturday in Guangdong province's western part. Three crew members, who were rescued, have stated that other crew members could have been swept away due to the waves of the helicopter, which came to rescue them.
Four helicopters and two fixed-wing aircraft were sent for the rescue mission.
Officials have assured to widen the search area as the number of missing people is large. They could extend the search and rescue operation at night.
Rescuers said they would increase the search area "due to the large number of people missing" and extend the operation into the night if conditions allowed.
