THE China Coast Guard (CCG) rescued the Filipino crew members of a cargo ship that capsized northwest of Bajo de Masinloc, Chinese authorities reported on Friday.
The Singapore-flagged MV Devon Bay had a crew of 21 Filipinos, 17 of whom were rescued, officials said.
Two of the rescued crewmen have died, the Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command said in a post on social media network Weibo.
The search and rescue operation for the remaining four crew members was continuing, the officials said.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila said in a statement on Friday the CCG received a distress call at around 1:34 a.m. on Jan. 23 from the Maritime Search and Rescue Center of Sansha City in Hainan province, indicating the ship had capsized about 55 nautical miles northwest of Huangyan Dao, the Chinese name for Bajo de Masinloc.
The CCG dispatched two vessels to the area.
In a separate and more detailed report, the Sansha Maritime Safety Administration said the incident occurred earlier, at around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The Devon Bay was sailing from the Philippines to Guangdong, China.
The fish-rich Bajo de Masinloc is a flash point of sometimes violent standoffs between the Philippines and China, which both claim the shoal and its waters as part of their territory.
Photos released by China’s embassy in Manila showed the rescued Filipino sailors, whose ship was believed to be carrying iron ore from the Philippines to China, receiving medical treatment.
A Philippine Coast Guard statement said the country’s own vessels were headed to the area where the vessel had capsized, noting the ship’s position was “within the Philippine exclusive economic zone.”
The ship was already listing 25 degrees when it called for help, it said.
