Chinese ship capsizes in Indian Ocean with 39 on board, Xi Jinping orders search and rescue

Fishing boat with crew members from China, Indonesia and the Philippines capsizes south of the Maldives, though exact location and cause are unclear

Xi tells departments to activate emergency response and send additional help, urges foreign ministry and embassies to work with local authorities

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The Lupeng Yuanyu 028, a shipping vessel operated by Penglai Jinglu Fishery, capsized on Tuesday morning. Photo: SCMP

Published: 3:36pm, 17 May 2023Updated: 6:52pm, 17 May 2023

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered an all-out search and rescue operation after a Chinese fishing boat with 39 crew members on board capsized in the Indian Ocean south of the Maldives.

The boat, Lupeng Yuanyu 028, capsized on Tuesday morning with 17 Chinese sailors, 17 Indonesians and five Filipinos on board, according to a report by state-owned broadcaster CCTV. None of the missing people have been found so far and the precise location of the incident remains unclear.

The Philippine coastguard said in a statement that it was monitoring the incident in coordination with the Chinese embassy, adding that the cause of the capsize was unclear.

The vessel was operated by Penglai Jinglu Fishery, a company based in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong. The company is engaged in deep-sea fishing, export processing, prepared food sales, marine farming and shipbuilding.

The company has six squid fishing boats and six ultra-low temperature tuna longliners that operate year-round in waters near the North Pacific, the Indian Ocean and South America. It mainly exports aquatic products to Japan, the United States and the European Union.

According to ship-tracking site FleetMon, the boat left Cape Town, South Africa on May 3 and appeared to be heading to Busan, South Korea.

Xi ordered provincial authorities, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and other departments to immediately activate the emergency response system to assess the situation and send additional rescue forces.

Chinese ship capsizes in Indian Ocean with 39 on board, Xi Jinping orders search and rescue

Fishing boat with crew members from China, Indonesia and the Philippines capsizes south of the Maldives, though exact location and cause are unclear Xi tells departments to activate emergency response and send additional help, urges foreign ministry and embassies to work with local authorities

Fishing boat with crew members from China, Indonesia and the Philippines capsizes south of the Maldives, though exact location and cause are unclear

Xi tells departments to activate emergency response and send additional help, urges foreign ministry and embassies to work with local authorities