Authorities in Vietnam have confirmed the disappearance of two crewmembers of a cargo vessel after it sank in the South China Sea off the country's south-eastern coast on Saturday, March 11.
The locally-registered general cargo vessel Tuan Tu 09 was sailing between Vung Tau and Phu Quy Island in Binh Thuan province when it encountered monsoon rains and wave heights of between two and four metres on Saturday.
The vessel sank approximately 28 nautical miles off Binh Thuan, prompting local disaster prevention officials to order the deployment of available search and rescue (SAR) assets. Two Vietnam Coast Guard patrol boats and two Good Samaritan fishing vessels were the first to divert to the area to conduct SAR operations.
On Monday, March 13, local media reported that five of Tuan Tu 09's crew have been rescued by a commercial fishing boat and later turned over to local authorities.
Despite the prevailing bad weather, the SAR effort is still ongoing in an attempt to locate the two other people who were on the cargo vessel when it sank.
Tuan Tu 09 was transporting construction materials totalling around 800 tonnes at the time of the incident.