Illustrative photo of a Chinese Coast Guard ship in Philippine waters. - AP
BEIJING: China and the Philippines said on Friday (Jan 23) they launched rescue operations after receiving reports of a distressed cargo ship near the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea which was carrying 21 Philippine crew members.
The Chinese military said 17 crew members were rescued and two of them later died, after a report around 1.30am local time on Friday (Jan 23) that a foreign cargo vessel had capsized in waters near the shoal. It dispatched aircraft to conduct searches and the Chinese Coast Guard sent two vessels for rescue efforts.
