China hands over 17 Filipino sailors from shipwreck to Philippines

BEIJING -- China on Sunday handed over 17 Filipino sailors it rescued from a shipwreck near Huangyan Island to the Philippines.

On Friday, a Singapore-registered cargo ship en route from the Philippines to China capsized in the waters near Huangyan Island. Two of the 17 rescued sailors were confirmed dead. Four others remain missing.

At 0:46 am Friday, the Sansha maritime search and rescue branch received a report from the Hainan provincial maritime search and rescue center, which said a Singapore-registered cargo ship "DEVON BAY" en route from the Philippines to South China's Guangdong province had lost contact in waters about 55 nautical miles northwest of China's Huangyan Island, with a total of 21 Filipino crew members on board.

According to the provincial center, the last time of contact with the ship was 9:26 pm Thursday, when the ship crew reported that the hull had tilted severely and water was flooding in. Contact was lost after that while the ship's emergency wireless position indicator later sent out an alarm signal.

Upon receiving the report, the Sansha maritime search and rescue branch immediately launched a multi-agency international rescue operation.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army Southern Theater Command sent military aircraft to conduct search operations over the waters where the accident occurred. Two nearby China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels also joined the rescue mission, along with teams from the Nanhai Rescue Bureau of the Ministry of Transport.

Multiple international commercial vessels, including ships registered in Liberia, Panama, and Japan, also joined the search operation.

At the request of the Philippine side, the CCG at 2:43 p.m. Sunday successfully handed over the rescued personnel to the Philippine Coast Guard in the waters where the incident occurred.

Following the shipwreck, the CCG immediately dispatched vessels to carry out humanitarian rescue operations for the distressed crew and will continue to mobilize relevant forces for search and rescue efforts, according to the CCG.