[ad_1]
Twelve Chinese sailors have died and nine others are seriously ill after a suspected outbreak of food poisoning aboard their ship near the Vietnamese island of De Con Dao, a rescue official and state media said on Friday.
The Chinese-registered cargo ship Wu Zhou 8 was on its way from Thailand to China when all 21 crew members fell ill, state media reported.
“We were told there were 10 bodies on board. All died of food poisoning, we were told,” an official involved in the rescue effort told AFP from Vietnam’s southern Ba Ria Vung Tau province.
The cause of death had not yet been confirmed, he added.
Also read – Another top Chinese official indicted on bribery charges ahead of key CPC meeting
“We have sent our rescue ship, which is due to arrive at the Chinese vessel late on Friday night,” said the official, who declined to be named.
Eleven other sailors were brought to hospital in a plane hired by the ship’s owner. Two died on the way, while nine were cared for by Vietnamese doctors on land.
State media said the Chinese vessel was now 63 nautical miles from Con Dao island.
On Thursday, seven bodies were found floating off the southern Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc.
They were believed to be from a boat that sank off the coast of Cambodia last week with 41 Chinese people on board.
[ad_2]
Source link