Five crew members of the Indonesian vessel Jagal Raya were transferred to the Vietnam Ocean Shipping Agency’s branch in Can Tho for repatriation

VOSA Can Tho was authorised by the Consulate General of Indonesia to take the sailors home.

The five were in stable health and were granted certificates for completing their necessary period of quarantine.

The Jagal Raya, which was carrying 230 tonnes of rice from My Thoi Port in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang to the Philippines, ran aground at 9pm on April 26 at Buoy No. 3, about 5 nautical miles southeast of Tra Vinh province.

At 8am on April 27, the ship’s owner informed authorities that it had a problem with its engine and its cargo area was flooded with water, and requested a tow.

On board were seven Indonesians. From 2.30 pm to 5.15 pm on the same day, the vessel Bien Dong 7 searched an area from Buoy No. 0 to Buoy No. 23 but could not locate the Indonesian ship.

The five sailors were rescued by local people, Soc Trang border guards and the Region 3 Rescue Centre. They were then sent to healthcare centres in Tran De district and Vinh Chau town.

The Consulate General of Indonesia sent a thank you letter on May 1 to the Border Guard Command of Soc Trang province for rescuing and taking care of the sailors./.VNA