[Explanation] At 3:50 a.m. on July 2, under the influence of the strong tropical storm "Siamba", a dangerous situation suddenly occurred in the sea 300 kilometers southwest of Hong Kong. Chain break, anchor in distress.

As of 12:00 on July 2, 3 people on the "Fujing 001" were rescued by the rescue helicopter of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Flying Service Team, and the remaining 27 people fell into the water and lost contact.

At present, the "Fujing 001" ship has sunk, and the search and rescue operation is underway.

  [Explanation] In response, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Flying Service Team held a press conference on the afternoon of July 3 to announce the latest rescue situation of the construction ship sinking accident.

Hu Weixiong, director of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Flying Service, said that as of the morning of July 3, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Flying Service dispatched a total of 6 helicopter sorties, 3 fixed-wing aircraft sorties, 18 pilots, and 18 air crew chiefs. All crew members were dispatched to participate in the search and rescue.

  [Concurrent] Wu Weixiong, Director of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Flying Service

  Our crew members at the time, as well as our colleagues in the operations team, also counted against the clock to arrange the work that we should need to do.

For example, how to mobilize our aircraft and our helicopters to cooperate with such a large-scale search operation. At the same time, our operation team and the Hong Kong Marine Department cooperate with the Guangdong Maritime Search and Rescue Center. Everyone makes different coordination and deployment.

  [Explanation] It is understood that the scene of the incident was close to the eye of the typhoon, the wind speed was as high as 144 kilometers per hour, the visibility was 500 meters, and the sea surface waves were 10 meters high.

In addition to the bad weather, there were multiple wind turbines near the accident site. The windmills made the waves higher, which greatly increased the difficulty and danger of search and rescue.

Situ Zhipeng, a team member who participated in the rescue operation, sighed in an interview with a reporter from China News Agency that this rescue operation was the most difficult one in his 12-year working career.

  [Concurrent] Situ Zhipeng, Level 3 Air Crew Officer, Hong Kong SAR Government Flying Service

  In yesterday's rescue mission, I was the rescuer. We were the second helicopter to arrive at the scene. When we arrived (the scene), the ship had been broken in two and the hull was seriously tilted.

We went (on the scene) and saw three crew members, holding onto the railing to stabilize his body.

I was in charge of the rescuers who were hung down to save these people. The wind was strong and everyone knew that we were near the eye of the storm. I was placed on the railing, I used my feet to stabilize myself, and then I used my The life-saving locks will rescue (get up) the first two crew members. We generally do not save two at the same time, usually one by one, but we also know that the situation is urgent at that time, and we are very worried that they will be swept away by the wind and waves in the next moment, and the whole rescue The process was the hardest of my 12 years (working) here.

  [Commentary] Hu Weixiong emphasized that the flight service team will continue to cooperate with other relevant departments, and every second counts, expand the search area, and do its best to search and rescue other missing crew members.

  [Concurrent] Wu Weixiong, Director of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Flying Service

  We will continue our search and rescue operations. All coordination will be conducted by the Hong Kong Maritime Rescue Coordination Center. They will issue search and rescue arrangements, and we will continue to dispatch planes. As far as we know, there are also mainland rescue ships searching there. , our work is always hope, using every ounce of our strength, exhausting all our time, manpower, and resources, hoping to find survivors.

  [Explanation] It is understood that after the accident, the emergency response to maritime search and rescue was launched quickly, and the "Fujiing 001" emergency response headquarters of the Guangdong Maritime Search and Rescue Center was established to organize rescue operations.

At the same time, the Hong Kong Maritime Rescue Coordination Center will be notified of the situation, and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Flying Service will be dispatched to the rescue.

  Reporter Liang Yuan Hong Kong reports

Responsible editor: [Chen Wentao]