VietNamNet Bridge - Seven Vietnamese fishermen rescued after the Korean trawler In Sung No 1 sank off Antarctica Monday are recovering in New Zealand, according to the Vietnamese embassy there.

Tran Dinh Khanh (from Ha Tinh province), Tran Ngoc Son (Nghe An), Le Quang Ruc (Ha Tinh), Nguyen Van Nam (Ha Tinh), Nguyen Van Bac (Quang Binh), Nguyen Mau Hien and Nguyen Van An have received medical aid and are in better condition.

They were working aboard the vessel when it went down the icy water at 19:30 GMT off New Zealand. On board were eight Koreans, eight Chinese, 11 Vietnamese, 11 Indonesians, three Filipinos and one Russian.

One Vietnamese - Nguyen Tuong from Ha Tinh - has been confirmed dead while three others are missing and presumed dead.

The four families on Wednesday announced their funerals.

Representatives from Hanoi-based Human Resource Development Corporation (LOD) - the labor agency that sent Tuong and several others to work on the vessel - have visited the funerals and handed each family VND5 million.

Another labor agency, TTLC Labor Export and Services Company, also sent a representative to Nguyen Van Thanh’s funeral. But TTLC is yet to offer any financial support.

In Sung 1 was among the 17 ships operated by the In Sung Corporation in Korea. Apart from the Korean staffs who were employed directly by In Sung, foreign workers were also hired through labor exporting companies from several countries.

According to the Vietnam Labor Management Board in Korea, In Sung hasn’t made any arrangement with the New Zealand government to bring the Vietnamese survivors back home. Earlier, they had been rescued by a Korean boat operating nearby and the New Zealand Naval forces.

However, In Sung’s managing director Kim Jung Do said they had sent a team to New Zealand to transport Tuong’s remains to Vietnam and assist the survivors.

It is not known at this stage what caused the vessel to sink. In Sung’s spokesman said the ship could have struck an iceberg or have been hit by a giant wave.

Source: Tuoi Tre