Twelve bodies have been found after a typhoon sank in the South China Sea over the weekend, Chinese authorities announced on Monday (July 4). The engineering boat was 160 nautical miles southwest of Hong Kong when it was caught in Storm Chaba on Saturday. The drama left 27 missing, according to a first count established this weekend.
According to the Maritime Search and Rescue Center in Guangdong, the Chinese province that borders Hong Kong, “relevant departments are currently intensifying their work to identify” the remains, the center said. Three of the 30 crew members were rescued on Saturday and taken to hospital.
10 meter high waves
Footage provided by Hong Kong authorities over the weekend showed a person being airlifted as waves crashed onto the deck of the half-submerged ship.
Typhoon Chaba formed in the central South China Sea and made landfall Saturday afternoon in Guangdong. The location where the ship was located recorded winds of 144 km/h and waves reaching 10 meters high, authorities said.
Seven planes, 246 ships and nearly 500 fishing boats remain mobilized to find the others missing, the Maritime Search and Rescue Center announced on Monday.
