Massive cargo ship snaps in TWO in typhoon winds leaving 27 feared dead after frantic helicopter rescue mission | The Sun
STRONG typhoon winds have caused a massive cargo ship to snap in half as 27 of its crew members are feared dead.
Authorities have launched a rescue mission to locate the missing crew after the ship sunk off Hong Kong as tropical storm Chaba passed through.
Planes and helicopters have been dispatched to aid in the rescue, with at least three people from the crew of 30 brought to safety as of 5:30 p.m. (1030 GMT) Saturday.
Photos released by the Hong Kong Government Flying Service showed one crew member being winched up to a rescue helicopter as big waves lashed the sinking vessels, which had broken up into two parts.
The accident occurred about 186 miles south of Hong Kong.
The Flying Service did not give the name or origin of the vessel.
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It said in a statement that crew members were negotiating difficulties brought on by Severe Tropical Storm Chaba, which was packing maximum winds of 68 miles per hour.
The storm made landfall in the western part of the coastal province of Guangdong later Saturday.
The Hong Kong service sent two fixed-wing aircraft and four helicopters for the rescue effort.
Gao Shuanzhu, the National Meteorological Center's chief forecaster said the typhoon is expected bring heavy rain but will lose strength over time.
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Gao said: "The abundant monsoon water vapour will lead to intense downpours and huge cumulative rainfall of an extreme nature,"predicting up to 24 inches of cumulative rainfall in some areas.
At-risk are the west of Guangdong, where China's typhoons usually linger, the east of Guangxi autonomous region and the island province of Hainan, with rainstorms causing landslides, urban waterlogging and floods, Gao said.
Hainan upgraded its emergency response to Level II, the second-highest, on Saturday.
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It suspended railway service across the island and cancelled more than 400 flights to and from the cities of Haikou and Sanya.
In Macau, one person was injured due to the wind and rain on Chaba's approach, state televisions reported.
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