Vietnamese cargo ship sinks near disputed reef; search on for 23 crew members

Rescue teams from China and Vietnam are racing to locate 23 crew members after a Vietnamese cargo ship sank in the South China Sea, according to Chinese state media.

The vessel, identified as Khoi Nguyen 18, was carrying 62 crew members when it ran into trouble near Yongshu Reef, also known as Fiery Cross Reef, on Saturday evening. Authorities said 39 people have been rescued so far, while search efforts remain underway for those still unaccounted for.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that a rescue ship detected what was believed to be a distress signal from the vessel shortly before 6:30 p.m. local time. Following the alert, a large-scale rescue operation was launched.


According to state news agency Xinhua, six Chinese ships, a rescue helicopter and one Vietnamese vessel have been deployed to search the surrounding waters.

Officials in China's Hainan province said the Khoi Nguyen 18 is a Vietnamese-registered cargo ship measuring just under 70 metres in length.

Vietnam's foreign ministry has not yet issued an official statement on the incident.

The sinking occurred in the disputed South China Sea, where overlapping territorial claims have long fuelled regional tensions. China claims almost the entire waterway despite an international tribunal ruling that rejected the legal basis of its expansive claims.

Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also claim parts of the sea, including the resource-rich Spratly Islands, believed to hold significant oil and natural gas reserves.

(With AFP inputs)