By Jite Eriabie
Eleven persons have been rescued, while two remain unaccounted for after their vessel sank in the South China Sea on January 12.
Three passing merchant vessels managed to rescue the stricken crew, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) informed.
The ships that plucked the ill-fated Vietnamese mariners from the water are Maltese-flagged containership Nordilly, Marshall Islands-flagged boxship Asiatic Dawn and Bahamas-flagged bulker MG Neptune.
According to Taiwanese Coast Guard, the name of the ship that capsized is Do Minh Toan, which was transporting containers when it sank.
“MPA has been providing navigational broadcasts to vessels in the vicinity to report any sightings of persons overboard and to navigate with caution in the vicinity of the incident,” the port authority said.
In addition, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) has also deployed one Super Puma helicopter and one Fokker-50 maritime patrol aircraft to support the search and rescue operation.
MPA said it was coordinating the ongoing search and rescue operation with the Malaysian and Indonesian authorities.
Further details about the reasons behind it capsizing are yet to be disclosed
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