Border guards of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province receive the saved foreign sailors from a fishing vessel of Binh Thuan province on late January 29. Source: bariavungtau.com.vn

BÀ RỊA - VŨNG TÀU — Ten Indonesians and one Malaysian who are crewmembers of vessel Samudra Indah II in distress off the coast of Vietnam were handed over to representatives of the two countries’ consulates general in HCM City on February 29.

The hand-over event was held by the Border Guard Command, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Department of Public Security of southern Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu province.

At 4:50pm on January 29, a fishing vessel from the south-central province of Bình Thuận found vessel Samudra Indah II of Malaysia sinking at a place about 20 nautical miles northeast of Con Dao island, and saved 11 crewmembers drifting at sea.

Being notified of the incident, the Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu Border Guard Command asked for coordination from relevant forces and vessels operating near the area to search for the missing and bring the 11 rescued sailors to Côn Đảo.

The sailors were safely brought to Côn Đảo island at 10:50pm on the same day.

At the hand-over event, Encun Asun, a crewmember of Samudra Indah II, said they had gone adrift for 17 hours before being rescued by Vietnamese fishermen.

Border guards of Ba Ria - Vung Tau arranged accommodation, supplied essential items, and sent doctors to examine their health, he said, adding that they will never forget these deeds.

Indonesian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Agustaviano Sofian thanked the Vietnamese authorities and fishermen for saving and caring for the crewmembers as well as handing over them to the consulates general for repatriation. — VNA/VNS