Rescue forces assist a fishing boat stranded at the breakwater of Cửa Việt channel.— Photo courtesy of the Quảng Trị Border Guard

HCM CITY — Eleven fishermen from HCM City aboard two vessels seeking shelter from Typhoon Bualoi faced a dangerous ordeal off the coast of Cửa Việt in Quảng Trị province early Sunday. 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 6am, a relative of one crew member alerted authorities that both vessels were stranded about 1.5 km from the mouth of the Cửa Việt 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 Quảng Trị Border Guard dispatching vessel CN-09 and 12 personnel to the scene. However, heavy rain and high waves initially hampered rescue operations.

By 8:30am, 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 Việt Nam’s National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, at 7am Sunday, the eye of Typhoon Bualoi was over the sea between Quảng Trị and Đà Nẵng, about 170 km east of Huế.

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 Quảng Trị - Nghệ An coast by afternoon.

Coastal waters from Thanh Hóa to Quảng Ngãi, including islands such as Cồn Cỏ and Lý Sơn, 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. — VNS