5 Filipinos Among 39 Missing After Chinese Vessel Capsizes In Indian Ocean

Five Filipino crew members are among the 39 people who have gone missing after a Chinese fishing vessel capsized in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday.

A search and rescue operation mission has been launched following the sinking of distant-water fishing vessel Lupeng Yuanyu 028 owned by Penglai Jinglu Fishery Co. Ltd — one of China's state-run fishing companies based in Shandong province.

Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered authorities to exhaust all efforts to find the missing sailors, which also include 17 Chinese and 17 Indonesian members. The Chinese official also asked authorities to be vigilant on the safety procedures for fishing and distant-sea operations to avoid similar incidents, GMA News Online reported, citing China's state-run CCTV news network.

The fishing vessel capsized at around 3 a.m. Beijing time on Tuesday. Despite the coordinated search and rescue activities, "so far, no missing persons have been found," CCTV noted, as per Manila Standard.

China deployed two commercial vessels to conduct the search and rescue mission — the Lu Peng Yuan Yu 018 and Yuan Fu Hai. Other teams from foreign vessels have also been helping in locating the missing crew members.

Beijing's Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched an "emergency mechanism for consular protection" involving embassies and consulates in Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Maldives for coordinated search and rescue operations, Manila Standard added. The outlet also cited a report from Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency which said that the incident occurred approximately 4,600 kilometers or 2,900 miles northwest of Australia.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has reportedly been coordinating with the Chinese embassy for rescue operations.

"The PCG Command Center is monitoring the incident and coordinating with the PCG SAR teams near the last known location of the said Chinese fishing vessel for possible assistance," the PCG said, as quoted by Manila Standard.

Lupeng Yuanyu 028 is an authorized fishing vessel for neon flying squid and Pacific Saury, the outlet said, citing data from the North Pacific Fishing Commission. Marine Traffic tracking website said the fishing vessel left Cape Town on May 5 en route to Busan and was last located on May 10 to the southeast of Reunion, a small French island in the Indian Ocean.