10 missing after coal carrier sinks off Central Vietnam

Maritime authorities in Central Vietnam have reported that 10 people are unaccounted for after a cargo vessel sank off the coast of Ha Tinh province on Sunday, May 25.

The locally-registered Cong Thanh 07 was travelling between the provinces of Quang Ninh and Quang Binh with a cargo of coal when its crew sent out a distress call at around 20:40 local time on Sunday.

At the time, the crew told local authorities that the ship had suffered an engine failure and developed a severe list.

The Vietnam Border Guard and other partner agencies deployed vessels to the area to render assistance. However, bad weather caused their arrival to be delayed and the ship sank just nine nautical miles off the Port of Vung Ang at around 21:30.

The crew of a Good Samaritan fishing boat pulled one survivor out of the waters off Vung Ang in the early morning of Monday, May 26. This individual is the only one of Cong Thanh 07's 11-strong crew to be rescued thus far.

The border guard is continuing its search for the 10 missing sailors, whom local authorities said were able to abandon ship just before the sinking.