Eight remain missing after ship collision in south China

A helicopter and a ship are pictured at the scene of a fishing boat collision off the southwestern coast of south China’s Hainan Province. /CMG

A helicopter and a ship are pictured at the scene of a fishing boat collision off the southwestern coast of south China’s Hainan Province. /CMG

Eight people remain missing following a collision between their fishing boat and a Panamanian container ship off the southwestern coast of south China’s Hainan Province on Wednesday, resulting in the sinking of the fishing vessel, the provincial maritime search and rescue center said on Sunday.

Thanks to ongoing search and rescue efforts aided by advanced technologies such as underwater robots and remotely operated submersibles, the location of the sunken fishing boat was determined on Saturday. However, due to the rapid flow of water at the site and the presence of fishing nets around the sunken ship, divers have not been able to enter the cabin.

As of 5 p.m. on Saturday, rescue boats, airplanes and rescue personnel had been dispatched to search for the missing people in an area exceeding 5,700 square nautical miles.

The fishing boat named “Yuenan Aoyu 36062” collided with the Panamanian container ship “SITC DANANG” at 22 nautical miles southwest of Yinggehai Town in Ledong County around midnight on Wednesday.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency