Rescue teams were searching on Sunday for 17 people still missing after a Vietnamese cargo ship sank in the South China Sea, with 45 crew members rescued since the vessel sent out a distress signal the previous evening.
The Vietnamese-registered cargo ship, Khoi Nguyen 18, was carrying 62 Vietnamese nationals when it encountered trouble near Fiery Cross Reef, according to China's state broadcaster CCTV.
A distress flare from the vessel was first spotted on Saturday (25 July) evening by the Chinese rescue ship Nanhai Jiu 115. The crew located a life raft carrying 29 survivors about 38 nautical miles north of Fiery Cross Reef.
Additional rescue operations brought the number of people pulled from the water to 45. Two rescue vessels and a rescue helicopter remained at the scene on Sunday as the search continued for the remaining 17 people.
The vessel is nearly 70 metres (230 feet) long and has a gross tonnage of 999.
Vietnam's foreign ministry said its authorities responded immediately after the incident and worked closely with Chinese counterparts during the rescue effort.
"Vietnam deployed search and rescue operations, with the support of Chinese search and rescue forces and ships near the area," a foreign ministry spokesperson said, thanking China for its assistance.
The incident occurred near Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands, known in China as the Nansha Islands, one of the most heavily contested areas in the South China Sea.
China claims sovereignty over most of the strategic waterway, including the Spratly Islands, where it has built military facilities on artificial islands. Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei also claim parts of the archipelago.
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