In the South China Sea, rescuers are scrambling to find over two dozen crew members who are missing after their ship broke up during a typhoon on Saturday. According to the Hong Kong Government Flying Service, an engineering vessel 160 nautical miles southwest of Hong Kong was damaged and broke into two pieces. The 30-member crew abandoned ship after suffering substantial damage.
As of 3:00 p.m. local time (07:00 GMT), three persons had been saved and were transferred to a hospital for treatment, according to the police.
According to a government statement, the three survivors said that further crew members might have been washed off by waves prior to the arrival of the first chopper.
Typhoon Chaba, which had earlier developed in the South China Sea’s centre, made landfall in Guangdong province in southern China on Saturday afternoon.
According to authorities, the ship’s position experienced winds of 144 kph and waves that were 10 metres high.
Two fixed-wing aircraft and four helicopter missions were sent by the Government Flying Service, while a rescue boat was sent by mainland Chinese authorities.
