Rescuers stated they might improve the search space “due to the large number of people missing”.

Hong Kong:

More than two dozen crew members are unaccounted for after their ship broke into two throughout a hurricane within the South China Sea on Saturday, with rescuers scrambling to search out them, officers say.

An engineering vessel that was 160 nautical miles southwest of Hong Kong “suffered substantial damage and broke into two pieces” and the 30-member crew deserted ship, in response to the Hong Kong Government Flying Service.

Three individuals had been rescued as of three pm native time (0700 GMT) and had been taken to hospital for therapy, authorities stated.

Dramatic footage offered by Hong Kong authorities confirmed an individual being airlifted onto a helicopter whereas waves crashed over the deck of the semi-submerged ship beneath.

The three survivors stated different crew members might have been swept away by waves earlier than the primary helicopter arrived, in response to a authorities assertion.

Typhoon Chaba earlier fashioned within the central a part of the South China Sea and on Saturday afternoon made landfall in Guangdong province in southern China.

Rescuers in Hong Kong had been notified of the incident at 7:25 am native time (2325 GMT on Friday) and located the ship close to Chaba’s centre, the place harsh climate situations and close by wind farms made the operation “more difficult and dangerous”.

The ship’s location recorded wind speeds of 144 kilometres per hour and waves that had been 10 metres excessive, authorities stated.

The Government Flying Service dispatched two sorties of fixed-wing plane and 4 helicopter sorties, with mainland Chinese authorities additionally dispatching a rescue boat.

Rescuers stated they might improve the search space “due to the large number of people missing” and lengthen the operation into the night time if situations allowed.

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