A squid fishing boat was staying overnight in the waters of Truong Sa archipelago when a tornado suddenly struck, sinking the boat and throwing the fishermen into the sea, killing 2 people and leaving 12 missing.
On the afternoon of October 20, nearly four days after the sinking of two squid fishing boats, 78 surviving fishermen were brought to the wharf in Tam Giang commune, Nui Thanh district, Quang Nam province by Navy ship 467. Seeing his wife and children waiting at the hall of Fisheries Control Team No. 3, fisherman Ho Van Quan, 58 years old, residing in Tam Giang commune, rushed to hug them tightly, saying in tears: "I thought I would never return."
Fisherman survives the moment a tornado sank his fishing boat. Video: Dac Thanh
On September 21, Mr. Quan and 53 fishermen from Tam Giang commune boarded a squid fishing boat with a capacity of over 900 CV and headed out to sea towards Truong Sa sea, where there is a lot of squid and the sea is calm. On the boat, except for captain Luong Van Vien and a cook, the remaining 52 fishermen went down to the basket boat to fish for squid all night at 4 pm every day. The next morning, they went back to the boat to rest. Fresh squid was put on a drying rack right on the deck.
After 12 days of fishing, on October 16, the sky was cloudy, with occasional thunderstorms. Seeing the unfavorable weather, coupled with the productive fishing in the previous days, each person caught about 200 kg of dried squid, Captain Vien decided to stop fishing, let the boat drift at sea, and let the crew rest.
At around 8pm, while many fishermen were sleeping in their cabins, others were sleeping on the deck, and a few were having dinner, a sudden storm hit. In an instant, the whirlwind flipped the boat, knocked over the 2-meter-high squid drying rack, and threw the fishermen on deck into the sea.
Captain Vien used the Icom to call a fishing boat about 20 nautical miles away, reporting the location of the boat in distress. Five minutes later, the boat sank, taking with it many fishermen who were sleeping in the cabin.
Mr. Ho Van Quan was taken to the hall of Fisheries Control Team No. 3 to rest and meet his family. Photo: Dac Thanh
Thrown into the sea, sinking about 2 meters, Mr. Quan surfaced but was surrounded by the squid drying rack. "The waves were not big, but it was dark, I tried to escape from the drying rack, gathered bamboo sticks to make a life buoy, and swam to find my shipmates," he said.
Luckily, at that time, four basket boats floated to the surface. The fishermen clung to the boats, separated the bamboo poles from the squid drying racks to use as oars to rescue the fishermen who were panicking and calling for help. Mr. Quan was brought onto the basket boat after 20 minutes of being submerged in the sea water, his body shivering from the cold.
After more than 30 years at sea, Mr. Quan said this was the first time he encountered a tornado. "I have experienced many times when the sea was rough and the waves were big due to the effects of storms and tropical depressions, but it was not unexpected so the ship was still able to move to avoid it. The tornado came so quickly that my brothers and I did not have time to react," he said.
Coming ashore with a heavy face, Captain Luong Van Vien said he was "heartbroken that 12 brothers were missing". They were between 24 and 62 years old, mainly from Tam Giang and Quang Nam communes, some were relatives.
"The ship sank, a large amount of oil spilled out. People in the cabin and on the deck tried to escape, but maybe because they were injured, they drank water and oil, so their health deteriorated and they sank with the ship," Mr. Vien said.
Fishermen and their relatives hug and cry after an unfortunate fishing trip. Photo: Dac Thanh
40 survivors climbed into four basket boats and held out until 2am before being rescued by a friendly ship. The friendly ship then searched for the fishermen and rescued two of them, but they died.
Because the squid fishing boat sank in thousands of meters of deep water, the search for the boat was very difficult. During the past four days, at its peak, about 20 fishing boats, 4 ships of the Navy and Fisheries Surveillance organized the search, but only buoys, fishing gear, clothes, blankets were found, and no trace of the victim was found.
In addition to Captain Luong Van Vien’s boat, at around 1 a.m. on October 17, a squid fishing boat captained by Tran Cong Truong, 42, and 38 fishermen was sunk by waves 135 nautical miles from Song Tu Tay Island. A nearby fishing boat rescued 38 people, but Nguyen Duy Dinh, 63, was missing.
The fourth squid fishing trip of the year, which was expected to last two and a half months so that the fishermen could have money to prepare for Tet, unexpectedly became the last trip for 15 fishermen, leaving behind pain for those who remained. The wish of the fishermen as well as their relatives is that the authorities continue to search for the 13 missing victims.
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