Eleven rescued from burning Chinese freighter in Yellow Sea

Eleven freighter crewmembers were rescued after a fire broke out on their vessel in the Yellow Sea some 100 nautical miles east of Jiangsu province on the morning of January 31.

The incident occurred when a blaze erupted in Xin Hua Sheng’s engine room and quickly spread to the superstructure.

The crew then sent out a distress call, which was received by the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) at Lianyungang at around 06:45 local time.

The MRCC then despatched helicopters and a tug to the scene to evacuate the distressed crew.

The helicopters brought all 11 crewmembers of Xin Hua Sheng to safety while the tug remained in the area to assess the situation and determine whether the crippled freighter needed to be salvaged.

Chinese authorities have not yet provided details on the vessel’s condition following the incident.