Fire ignites on fishing boat in China's Beibu Gulf; all six crew rescued

A fishing vessel with six people on board caught fire while it was in the Beibu Gulf off China's southern coast on Wednesday, December 4.

Local authorities first learned of the incident shortly after 02:00 local time on Wednesday when the crew of the fishing vessel Guibei Yu XXX sent a distress call saying that their vessel was on fire and that they needed assistance.

The vessel was off the western portion of the Leizhou Peninsula near the Wu oil field when the blaze ignited.

An offshore support vessel and other fishing vessels immediately diverted to the area to assist in the search and rescue (SAR) effort after being directed to do so by the Zhanjiang Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre. Zhanjiang VTMS meanwhile sent out a VHF alert advising the crews of other vessels to navigate with caution and be on the lookout for any survivors in the water.

The SAR operation ended after two hours following the successful rescue of all six of Guibei Yu XXX's crew.