(VOV) - Four Vietnamese sailors who were seriously burnt in a Korean ship fire in the Ross Sea 3,700km from southeastern New Zealand have been transferred to an American ship scheduled to return to the nearest port of New Zealand.
The Korean ship Jeong Woo 2, which belongs to the Republic of Korea company Sunwoo, had had 40 fishermen on board, including 23 Vietnamese.
Le Van Thanh, Vice Head of the Department of Overseas Labour under the Ministry of Labour-Invalids and Social Affairs, said three of the Vietnamese fishermen are still missing and feared dead. The other 16, excluding the four who were burnt, are now on Sunwoo Company’s Jeong Woo 3 and are expected to arrive in New Zealand in 7-10 days.
Thanh said his agency has closely coordinated with the Consular Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deal with this case.
The Department of Overseas Labour has sent a dispatch to Sunwoo, asking it to take measures to ensure the interests of Vietnamese nationals, including insurance for them.
Meanwhile, the Consular Department has asked the Republic of Korea and New Zealand to quickly investigate the cause of the incident and identify the distressed crewmen, search for the missing, and assist them.
Three Vietnamese might be dead in a RoK ship fire