74 people confirmed missing after fishing boats sank
五艘漁船西沙沉沒 74人失蹤
A total of 74 people are missing after three fishing boats sank on Sunday afternoon in the South China Sea. The boats were caught up in Typhoon Wutip. Some of those who were on other fishing boats and survived the storm, spoke to us on the phone to explain what happened.
Five fishing boats were caught in Typhoon Wutip. But only two survived.
Chen Songyin is the captain of one of the two boats. He says he has never before seen such a severe storm.
Chen Songyin, Fishing Boat Captain, said, "I think the wind was almost at level 16 or 17. I’ve never seen such a super Typhoon. We were hiding behind the coral island. We saw water enter the boats immediately. I don’t know when they sank."
Another fisherman Li Xuanwang said he would never forget the terrible moment.
Li Xuanwang, Fisherman, said, "I was on the boat inside the port. I don’t know what the situation was outside the port. But I saw the boats inside the port topple and collide."
Chen Songyin’s boat rescued 10 fishermen after the accident. But it was almost dark at the time. So they had to wait until the next morning to continue the rescue work.
Chen Songyin, Fishing Boat Captain, said, "I went out to rescue people from the early morning. Initially, we were around the coral island with light boats and found one survivor. Later, we searched the area 35 kilometers from the coral island with the big boat but found nothing."
The transportation department and other departments of Hainan have launched an emergency plan. Professional rescuers with boats and helicopters have been deployed to search for the missing boats. Some nearby fishermen have also joined the search operation.