Quang Tri (VNA) - Eleven fishermen from Ho Chi Minh City aboard two vessels seeking shelter from Typhoon Bualoi faced a dangerous ordeal off the coast of Cua Viet in central Quang Tri province on early September 28. One vessel sank, while the other was disabled and battered by heavy waves.
As of the latest updates, eight crew members have been rescued, while three remain missing amid ongoing search and rescue efforts.
At around 6:00, a relative of one crew member alerted authorities that both vessels were stranded about 1.5 km from the mouth of the Cua Viet channel.
One boat carrying four people reportedly sank, while the other, with seven crew aboard, was immobilised and pushed against a breakwater by the rough seas.
Local officials confirmed that one crew member from the sunken boat managed to swim to shore. Meanwhile, the seven crew on the disabled vessel were trapped along the breakwater.
Rescue teams swiftly responded, with the Quang Tri Border Guard dispatching vessel CN-09 and 12 personnel to the scene. However, heavy rain and high waves initially hampered rescue operations.
By 8:30, a small fishing boat from a nearby community reached the stranded vessel and successfully evacuated all seven crew members to safety.
The three missing crew members from the sunken vessel were reportedly on deck before it submerged and are believed to have jumped into the sea, attempting to swim to shore. Their current status remains unknown.
According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, at 7:00 on September 28, the eye of Typhoon Bualoi was over the sea between Quang Tri and Da Nang, about 170 km east of Hue.
The storm carried sustained winds of 118-133 km/h (Category 12), with gusts up to level 15, moving west-northwest at around 30 km/h. Landfall was expected along the Quang Tri - Nghe An coast by afternoon.
Coastal waters from Thanh Hoa to Quang Ngai, including islands such as Con Co and Ly Son, are forecast to experience increasingly severe winds, ranging from level six to 9, rising to 10-13 near the storm’s centre, with waves reaching five to seven metres and very dangerous sea conditions./.
PM orders preparedness as Typhoon Bualoi moving fast towards Vietnam
Bualoi is moving almost twice the average speed of a typical typhoon in the region, and may cause multiple disaster conditions such as strong winds, torrential rain, flash floods, landslides, and coastal flooding.
