Vietnamese mission's representatives meet with rescued Vietnamese sailors in Seoul. — VNA/VNS Photo

SEOUL — The Vietnamese Embassy and the labour management board in the Republic of Korea (RoK) on Monday met and handed over new passports for 17 Vietnamese sailors, who were rescued in a ship accident off the RoK island of Ulleung on December 1.

The Houei Crystal ship, registered in Panama, with 18 Vietnamese crew members, sank in border waters between the RoK, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and Japan.

Seventeen crewmembers were found after drifting into the RoK’s waters, rescued by the Korean Coast Guard, and brought to the Donghae port in Gangwon Province on December 2. One of the sailors remains missing.

The 17 sailors are staying at a hotel near Incheon airport while completing procedures for returning home. They lost all personal identification documents during the incident. The embassy has issued them new passports and helped with procedures so that they can leave for Việt Nam on December 25.

At the meeting at the hotel, Tạ Thị Thanh Thuỷ, head of the labour management board, presented gifts to the group.

Đặng Văn Duy, the captain of the sunken ship, expressed his gratitude for such prompt assistance. — VNS