by Playfuls Staff |
19th May 2006
A group of 67 Vietnamese fishermen stranded on a remote atoll by Typhoon Chanchu have rescued one more survivor from the sea as they await help in getting back home, an official said Friday. [more]
The fishermen also recovered four bodies floating near uninhabited Pratas Island, where their six ships are anchored, said Dang Le of the Quang Ngai provincial coast guard.
"The fishermen are still searching for the rest of their fleet, but they informed us they are running out of fuel and ask for help," Le said by telephone.
Because of weak radio signals, communication with the stranded fishermen was sporadic, Le added, and he could not provide any more details of the latest rescue.
The deep-sea fishing fleet of 11 boats was trapped offshore as Chanchu roared past Vietnam this week. Two of the boats are known to have sunk and three others are missing along with 22 fishermen, said Van Quang, deputy director of the Sea Patrol of the Vietnamese coast guard.
"The situation is very dire now," Quang said. "We fear the rest of the missing were sunk with their ships."
Six of the ships managed to make it to tiny Pratas Island - only 3 kilometres long and barely above sea level - and anchor their boats as Chanchu swiped past Vietnam early Wednesday.
Chanchu slammed into southern China on Thursday, killing at least 23 people after cutting a swath through the Philippines, leaving at least 37 dead there.
Quang said Vietnamese authorities were in sporadic radio contact with the survivors on Pratas Island, also known as Dong-sha, 340 kilometres southeast of Hong Kong.
The Vietnamese coast guard and embassy have requested both Chinese and Taiwan assistance in helping find the missing fishermen and getting the stranded sailors off the remote island.
It was unclear how the stranded fishermen would get off the island. Pratas is administered by Taiwan but also claimed by China as part of Guangong province, making it unclear who should launch any rescue.
The Vietnamese fishermen are all from coastal villages in Quang Ngai province, 900 kilometres south of Hanoi.
© 2006 DPA
