The rescue vessel, SAR 412, from the Regional Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre No. 3 has successfully brought an ill captain to shore to receive medical attention. — VNA/VNS Photo

ĐÀ NẴNG — A rescue team from the Marine Search and Rescue Centre Region II in central Đà Nẵng has successfully brought a captain to shore for treatment.

At 6pm on Monday, while working on the boat in southern water off Hoàng Sa (Spratly) archipelago, captain Bùi Ngọc Dung, 46, residing in Quảng Nam Province’s Núi Thành District suddenly suffered severe abdominal pain.

Recognising that he was in critical condition, the boat’s sailors sent a request for emergency rescue to the centre.

After receiving a distress signal, the centre instructed the ship to return to the mainland. At the same times, it dispatched SAR 412 as a rescue ship, with two doctors on board.

SAR 412 reached the ship’s location at 2am on Tuesday, provided medical care and bring the stricken sailor to the mainland for treatment.

Fishing boat sinks

In related news, the Vietnam Embassy in Thailand is helping five Vietnamese fishermen who were rescued by Thai fishermen while drifting at sea due to an accident.

Two of the five fishermen are being treated at Rayong Provincial hospital for injuries sustained in the accident.

The accident happened on the morning of May 7 when the gas tank of a squid fishing boat from Kiên Giang Province exploded while it was anchored in waters bordering Thailand and Cambodia. The boat sank after the explosion.

The five fishermen drifted at sea until they were rescued at 2pm on the same day.

One of the two injured fishermen suffered severe gas burns and the other was injured in the leg. Doctors said the two could be discharged within two weeks.

The remaining three fishermen are at the Rayong province police headquarters, waiting for COVID-19 testing.

The police of Rayong province will work with the provincial Immigration Department to hand over the fishermen to the Vietnamese Embassy to bring them back home.

The Vietnamese embassy in Thailand has contacted the owner of the boat and the fishermen's family to bring them home soon. — VNS