At least 14 people were missing when a Philippine fishing boat collided with a Chinese cargo ship in the waters near the Philippines
[Global Times Special Correspondent in the Philippines Bai Linlin] According to the ABS-CBN TV website website on the 29th, a Philippine fishing boat collided with a cargo ship from China at noon on the 28th in the waters of Mindoro Province, Philippines, causing at least 14 people to fall The sea is missing. Filipino rescuers are still searching. The Chinese cargo ship has also been detained by the Philippine Coast Guard because the Philippine Coast Guard believes that "they are responsible".
The ABS-CBN TV website stated that the missing persons included 12 fishing boat crew members and 2 passengers. According to the Philippines’ “World Daily”, the governor of West Mindoro Province, Ed Ador Gadiano, confirmed in a telephone interview on the evening of the 28th that the incident occurred approximately 24 kilometers away from Puruan in the province. "Philippine Business Daily" quoted Panopio, commander of the Philippine Coast Guard South Tagalog District, saying that the wrecked Philippine fishing boat came from the southern province of Tahwetavi, and the missing fisherman was the Irma fishery in the city of Namotas in the Metro Manila region. Employees of trading companies. "When our team arrived at the incident, the fishing boat had capsized, but no crew was found. The boat sank completely around 18:30."
It is understood that the Philippine search and rescue operations were suspended on the evening of the 28th and continued on the morning of the 29th due to the high winds and waves in the incident. The Philippine Coast Guard said that in addition to patrol boats, they also sent helicopters to expand search and rescue operations. As of 24:00 on the 29th, there was no news that the missing Filipino fishermen were rescued. Gadiano said in a telephone interview that the local disaster response team and some community hospitals have been reminded to be ready to accept survivors at any time.
The Philippine media said that the Chinese cargo ship that collided with the Philippine fishing vessel was named "MV Vienna Wood", hung the flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and was a bulk cargo ship registered in Hong Kong, China. Panopio believes that the destination of the "Vienna" should not be the Philippines. The Philippine Coast Guard has seized the cargo ship and its crew to cooperate with the investigation because they were found to be "responsible" for the accident.
It is understood that this is not the first collision between Chinese and Philippine ships. In the early morning of June 10, 2019, an accidental collision between a Chinese fishing boat and a Philippine fishing boat occurred in the waters of Lile Beach in Nansha. According to Agence France-Presse, the accident at the time caused 22 Filipino fishermen to fall into the water and was eventually rescued by a Vietnamese fishing boat. A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at the time that China expressed condolences to the Philippine fishermen who were in danger in the accident. Philippine President Duterte also stated after the incident that the whole incident was an "accident" and accepted China's proposal for a joint investigation.