Dramatic footage of the rescue of sailors from a sinking ship snapped in two by the strong waves created by Typhoon Chaba in the South China Sea was shared by Hong Kong Government Flying Service (GFS). The clip shows turbulent waves lashing over the sinking ship and a sailor being pulled up to a helicopter.
Netizens appreciated the rescue personnel for carrying out the daring task amid harsh weather conditions.
Watch the video here:
Hong Kong Government Flying Service said on Instagram that they had received a rescue request from the Hong Kong Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre at 7:25 am on Saturday. The vessel with about 30 seamen onboard suffered substantial damage and was broken into two pieces. The sailors had abandoned the ship and were waiting to be rescued.
“China rescue boat is on scene but the distressed vessel is located near to the centre of #Typhoon #Chaba , which the harsh weather conditions make the rescue operation much more difficult. GFS deploys one #CL605 #fixedwing aircraft and two #H175 rescue helicopters to the scene. Rescue mission is ongoing,” read the post.
A Reuters report said that three crew members were rescued and more than two dozen were missing. Search and rescue operations for others were continuing about 300 kilometres southwest of the city, GFS was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Typhoon Chaba hit Guangdong Province in China at about 3 pm on Saturday. Several flights were cancelled and businesses were closed due to strong winds and torrential rain, CNN reported.
