VietNamNet Bridge - The seven Vietnamese sailors who were rescued after the Korean ship No. 1 In Sung sank off Antarctica on December 13 are expected to fly to Korea in the next several days before coming home.

Thousands of expatriate sailors face risks and difficulties

Three Vietnamese sailors may be dead in Antarctica sunken ship 

The sailor, all from provinces in central Vietnam, arrived at a New Zealand port on December 23 on the boat that rescued them.

The Vietnamese survivors are living in a hotel in Invercargill city and are in good health. They had earlier received adequate medical care and food.

The Vietnamese sailors will be issued passports and other necessary papers to return to Vietnam, Vietnamese Ambassador to New Zealand Vuong Hai Nam told Tuoi Tre Newspaper.

According to a sailor named Nam, due to ongoing investigation into the causes of sinking, it would take three or four days more before they could fly to South Korea from where they will return to Vietnam.

The trip will be financed by Korea-based In Sung Corporation that owns the sunken ship.

Meanwhile, the body of a sailor who died in the accident is being preserved at a hospital in New Zealand.

It is reported that one Vietnamese sailor is dead and three others missing while seven have been rescued from the Korean fishing boat, No. 1 Insung, which was sunken off Antarctica on December 13. The dead sailor is Nguyen Tuong from the central province of Ha Tinh.

The 11 Vietnamese fishermen in the Korean ships mainly come from central Vietnam, mostly Ha Tinh province.

The three missing sailors are presumed dead because they were not wearing any protective gear and the water temperature is only two degrees Celsius.

It is said the vessel may have been hit by an iceberg or a strong wave. The exact cause is not yet known but it went down in apparently calm waters 250 km south of New Zealand. On board are eight Koreans, eight Chinese, 11 Vietnamese, 11 Indonesians, three Filipinos and one Russian.

Five have been confirmed dead and 17 others missing and presumed dead. The remaining 20 people were rescued by a Korean fishing vessel operating nearby.

Source: Tuoi Tre