27 missing after ship broke up due to typhoon in South China Sea
The Hong Kong government's air support service announced that 27 people were missing after their ship broke up due to a typhoon in the South China Sea on Saturday.
The engineering ship was 160 nautical miles southwest of Hong Kong when it was overtaken by storm Chapa.
The Hong Kong government's aviation service said the ship had "severely damaged and split in two".
Rescue services went to the scene after being notified at about 7:25 local time (23:25 GMT Friday).
According to the authorities, three of the 30 crew members were rescued and taken to hospital.
Footage released by Hong Kong authorities showed a person being airlifted with waves on the deck of the half-submerged ship.
A Hong Kong government statement said that according to the three survivors, other crew members may have been swept away by the waves before the first helicopter arrived.
Typhoon Chaba started in the middle of the South China Sea and made landfall Saturday afternoon in Guangdong Province in southern China.
Rescuers will expand the search area "because of the large number of missing persons" and extend the operation into the night if conditions permit.
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