Nine crew members rescued from sunken sand-carrying vessel.

On March 14th, Mr. Vu Dang Vuong, Director of the Can Tho Maritime Port Authority, announced that after nearly 24 hours of rescue efforts, authorities had rescued nine crew members from the sinking of the Truong Hung 268 vessel in the waters off Can Tho.

The scene of the Trường Hưng 268 ship sinking in the waters off Can Tho.

Accordingly, at approximately 11:00 AM on March 13th, the Can Tho Maritime Port Authority received information about a vessel in distress in the Dinh An estuary area.

Upon investigation, the unit identified the vessel involved in the accident as the Truong Hung 268 (Vietnamese nationality, 77m long, 3,587 tons tonnage, belonging to Minh Chau International Trade and Transport Company Limited), captained by Tran Dai Cuong.

The image shows the Trường Hưng 268 vessel, recorded on March 11th (before the sinking incident).

The Trường Hưng 268 vessel traveled from Vĩnh Xương Port Authority (on March 11th) to Cần Thơ, carrying over 3,550 tons of sand and with 9 crew members on board.

Upon reaching the Định An estuary area, the ship encountered strong winds and rough seas, with waves 2-4 meters high, causing it to sink at the stern. At that time, a nearby fishing boat rescued 5 crew members.

Rescue forces are searching for two victims who drifted at sea.

Upon receiving the information, the Director of the Can Tho Maritime Port Authority immediately directed the deployment of tugboats Seasco 01 and Bien Dong 09, along with numerous port authority personnel, to the scene to provide assistance.

Also participating in the rescue operation was the specialized vessel SAR 413 (belonging to the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center).

Location where the Truong Hung 268 ship sank.

At 2:30 PM on the same day, the cargo ship Grand Family 18 passed by the scene, approached, and rescued two more crew members at the bow of the ship.

However, Captain Cuong and the chief engineer (wearing life jackets) of the Truong Hung 268 vessel are still adrift at sea, and their whereabouts are unknown.

Medical check-ups for the injured crew members.

Search and rescue operations continued to be carried out urgently by the forces throughout the night.

At approximately 9:00 AM on March 14th, the specialized SAR 413 vessel received the remaining two distressed crew members from the BL 91558 TS vessel (which had previously discovered and rescued the two crew members).

Four crew members were handed over to the border guard force of Can Tho City.

After receiving initial medical care and their health stabilized, the shipwrecked crew members were handed over to An Thanh 3 Border Guard Station (Can Tho City).

The shipwreck did not cause an oil spill at sea; the cause is currently being investigated by authorities.

TUAN QUANG

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/cuu-9-thuyen-vien-บน-tau-cho-cat-bi-chim-post842897.html