Siamba Typhoon │ Flight Service Team rescues 3 crew members from the storm eye rescue by grabbing the railing to save their colleagues or being washed away

A shipwreck accident occurred in the southwest of Hong Kong this morning (2nd), and a mainland engineering ship broke off two sides and tilted near the eye of typhoon "Siamba", about 160 nautical miles (about 300 kilometers) southwest of Hong Kong, with about 30 crew members. Abandoned the ship to escape, the Government Flying Service dispatched, rescued three crew members and sent them to the hospital.

The rescued crew revealed that they had to hold on to the railing to avoid falling into the sea, and other crew members may have been swept away by the waves before the first helicopter arrived.

Hu Weixiong, director of the flight service team, said that when the first team arrived at the scene, they found that the accidental engineering ship had been disconnected in two, and the lifeboat on board had not yet been lowered, which shows that the situation was very critical at that time.

In addition, due to the bad weather at the scene this morning, there are many wind farms nearby, which greatly increases the danger and difficulty of search and rescue.

The engineering ship broke in two and floated in the huge waves.

(Provided by the Government Flying Service)

The Mainland-registered engineering vessel "Fujing 001" involved in the incident was 204 meters long and was carrying a total of 30 Mainland crew members at the time of the incident.

The vessel had an accident this morning in inland waters about 160 nautical miles southwest of Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (the Centre) was notified by the Guangdong Rescue Coordination Centre this morning and coordinated the Hong Kong Government Flying Service to carry out search and rescue work.

Crew rescued: The hull is severely tilted and broken

The Government Flying Service stated that according to the three rescued crew members, because the hull had been severely tilted and fractured at that time, they could only hold on to the ship's fence before the helicopter arrived, while the other crew members may have been swept away by the waves before the first helicopter arrived. .

Due to the large number of missing persons, the other two sorties are about to be dispatched for search and rescue, and the search scope should be expanded as much as possible before entering the dark.

Wu Weixiong (right), director of the flight service team, said that the accident site was near the eye of the "Siamba" typhoon, and the weather conditions were the worst when they were dispatched this morning.

(file picture)

Director: The search and rescue process is difficult and the nearby wind farms must be avoided

Wu Weixiong, director of the flight service team, said that the accident site was near the eye of the "Siamba" typhoon, and the weather conditions were the worst when they were dispatched this morning. The fleet encountered head-on rain and strong air currents during the flight to the scene, which obstructed the vision of the personnel and reduced the flight range of the aircraft.

In addition, after the personnel arrived at the scene, they knew that there were many wind farms nearby, including many large windmills erected on the water, with a height of up to 500 feet. The fleet had to be careful to avoid obstacles to reach the accident scene, which made the danger and the search and rescue time increased.

A man believed to be a crew member was pushed into the A&E ward in a wheelchair. Police officers were investigating in the room. It is reported that the procedure was complicated because he was a Mainland crew member.

Lifeboat on board failed to lower

Hu Weixiong pointed out that when the first team arrived at the scene, they found that the accidental engineering ship had been disconnected in two parts, the bow part of the ship sank, the protruding stern also continued to sink, and the lifeboat on board had not yet been lowered. It can be seen that the situation was very critical at that time. The three crew members who were seen were rescued as soon as possible.

Hu Weixiong said that the search and rescue of the flight service team is still in progress, and the wind has eased slightly.

Siamba typhoon | The engineering ship disconnected two sections of 30 crew members who abandoned the ship to escape, and the flight service team dispatched personnel to search and rescue the Siamba typhoon |