Rescue teams continued searching on Sunday for 23 people who remain missing after a Vietnamese cargo ship sank in the South China Sea, according to a Reuters report.
The cargo vessel Khoi Nguyen 18 was carrying 62 Vietnamese nationals when it encountered trouble near Fiery Cross Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands. Rescuers have so far saved 39 people, while search teams continue to look for the remaining crew members.
Distress Signal Triggers Rescue Mission
Authorities in China's southern Hainan province said a Chinese rescue ship, Nanhai Jiu 115, spotted a distress flare from the vessel on Saturday evening.
The distress signal immediately triggered a large-scale rescue operation in the area. Officials have not yet revealed what caused the cargo ship to sink.
China and Vietnam Deploy Rescue Teams
Chinese and Vietnamese authorities launched a joint search operation following the accident. According to the report, rescue teams have deployed six Chinese vessels, one rescue helicopter and one Vietnamese vessel.
The teams continue to search the waters around the sinking site in the hope of finding more survivors.
Details of the Cargo Ship
The Vietnamese-registered Khoi Nguyen 18 measures nearly 70 metres (230 feet) in length and has a gross tonnage of 999 tonnes. Authorities have not confirmed whether bad weather, mechanical failure or any other factor caused the vessel to sink.
Accident Occurs in Disputed Waters
The ship sank near Fiery Cross Reef, which forms part of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. China calls the island group the Nansha Islands and claims sovereignty over most of the surrounding waters.
Several other countries also claim parts of the region, making it one of the world's most disputed maritime areas.
Tensions Recently Escalated in the Area
The accident comes just days after Chinese and Philippine forces confronted each other in the same region. According to the Philippine military, members of the Chinese Coast Guard assaulted Filipino sailors as they approached the BRP Sierra Madre, a grounded Philippine naval vessel stationed at the Second Thomas Shoal.
The Philippines uses the ship as a military outpost in the disputed waters. China rejected that account. Its Foreign Ministry said Filipino personnel approached Chinese vessels in small rubber boats and started the confrontation.
South China Sea Remains a Strategic Flashpoint
The South China Sea is one of the world's busiest shipping routes. It also contains significant oil and natural gas reserves. China has built military bases and airstrips on several artificial islands in the region to strengthen its territorial claims. However, those claims overlap with those of Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.
The competing claims have turned the South China Sea into one of Asia's most sensitive geopolitical flashpoints. Meanwhile, rescue teams continue searching for the 23 missing crew members as authorities investigate what caused the Vietnamese cargo ship to sink.