HANOI — A multinational search was continuing on Monday for 17 people missing after a Vietnamese cargo ship sank in stormy weather in the disputed South China Sea, with rescue teams from Vietnam, China and the Philippines taking part in the operation, officials said.
The Vietnamese-registered cargo vessel Khoi Nguyen 18 was carrying 62 Vietnamese nationals when it encountered distress near Fiery Cross Reef, also known as Yongshu Reef, in the Spratly Islands late on Saturday, according to Vietnamese authorities and Chinese state media. The vessel later sank after operating in severe weather conditions.
Vietnam's Foreign Ministry said 45 people had been rescued while 17 remained unaccounted for. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said Vietnamese rescue forces, assisted by Chinese ships and helicopters as well as vessels operating nearby, were continuing efforts to locate the missing.
China's state broadcaster CCTV reported that a Chinese rescue vessel first detected a distress flare from the ship before locating survivors aboard life rafts. Additional rescue ships and aircraft were later dispatched, while nearby fishing vessels joined the search. Chinese authorities said difficult sea and weather conditions had complicated rescue operations.
The Philippine Coast Guard said it deployed a patrol vessel and an aircraft after receiving a request from Vietnam to assist in the search. Philippine officials said they were coordinating with Vietnamese authorities and using maritime search planning systems to improve coverage of the search area.
Vietnam expressed appreciation for China's assistance in the rescue effort despite longstanding territorial disputes in the South China Sea, where several governments maintain overlapping claims. Beijing controls Fiery Cross Reef, while Vietnam and the Philippines also claim the feature as part of the Spratly Islands. An international arbitration ruling issued in 2016 found that China's sweeping claims over most of the South China Sea had no legal basis, a decision Beijing rejects.
Authorities have not reported evidence of a collision or other incident beyond the adverse weather cited by Vietnamese officials, and no further details on the cause of the sinking have been officially released.
Rescue operations remained underway on Monday, with Vietnamese authorities saying efforts would continue until the remaining missing crew members were accounted for.
