The Regional Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre No. 3 on December 9 took a foreign sailor seriously injured on board a Panama-flagged cargo ship off Vietnam’s territorial waters to hospital for treatment.

The rescue vessel, SAR 413, from the Regional Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre No. 3.

He Liming, a 30 year-old Chinese national, suddenly fell from a height of seven meters into the hatch while working on the deck of the vessel Seiyo Honor in the morning of December 9. He suffered severe injuries in his back and left chest. His arms could not move. 

Seiyo Honor, which was en route from Bong Sen (Lotus) Port in Ho Chi Minh City to Kelang Port in Malaysia, was about 68 nautical miles southwest off the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau at the time.

The sailor’s condition had worsened so the ship’s captain had to send a request for emergency rescue to the centre.

The centre then instructed the ship to return to Vung Tau city, alongside with providing guidance on medical first aid. 

At the same time, it dispatched ship SAR 413 with doctors on board for rescue. With the doctors’ provision of medical care, He was in a better condition.

After arriving in Vung Tau, He was taken to the Franco-Vietnam Hospital in HCM City for further care and treatment.-VNA