Typhoon “Chaba” roars over the South China Sea with wind speeds of up to 144 kilometers per hour. The industrial ship “Fujing001” is not up to the force of nature and simply breaks apart. So far, only a few of the 30 crew members are safe.
A ship with 30 sailors on board was caught in typhoon Chaba in the South China Sea and broke in two. As the Hong Kong newspaper “South China Morning Post” reported, the air rescue service was initially able to bring three crew members from the sinking ship to safety around 300 kilometers west of the Chinese special administrative region after the accident. The status of the remaining 27 seafarers is unclear.
According to the report, the Chinese-flagged industrial ship “Fujing001” got into distress and broke up off the south China coast on Saturday morning as the typhoon raged in the region. Video footage shows a crew member being pulled into a helicopter with a lifeline as the ship sinks into the sea below.
Waves up to ten meters high and visibility of less than 500 meters made it difficult to find the other seamen. The three survivors reported that some colleagues may have been swept away by the waves before the first helicopter arrived. The authorities sent a total of two planes and four helicopters, and a lifeboat was also deployed. The rescue work should continue throughout the night.
The harsh weather conditions made it significantly more difficult for rescue workers to work: wind speeds of 144 kilometers per hour and waves ten meters high were measured at the scene of the accident. Typhoon Chaba made landfall in southern China’s Guangdong province on Saturday afternoon (local time).
