Bodies of Chinese nationals found off Vietnamese island

On September 29, Phu Quoc City’s forces picked up 7 bodies washed ashore on Bai Truong, Duong To Commune, Phu Quoc (Photo: CTV)

By Phong Lan- Dantri International

PHU QUOC ISLAND, VIETNAM: Seven dead bodies have been found floating off Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam’s southern province of Kien Giang Province, including two of Chinese nationality.

According to authorities in Phu Quoc, local residents detected the first two bodies drifting onto Bai Truong Beach in Duong To Commune at around 11 am on Thursday. Some hours later, they saw five corpses nearby.

Chairman of Kien Giang Provincial People’s Committee, Lam Minh Thanh, said that the seven bodies were decomposed so they hadn’t been able to identify them. Papers inside the wallet of two of the dead showed that they are Chinese nationals.

“They may be Chinese people whose boat sank in Cambodian waters last week,” the official said. “We’ll work with the Chinese Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City to investigate the case.”

Earlier on September 24, some fishermen in Phu Quoc rescued nine Chinese people who drifted near a local beach. The Chinese said that they were part of a 20-member fishing group traveling from China’s Fujian Province to Cambodia to catch fish. They claimed their ship sank near Cambodian waters.

Around the same time, AFP quoted the spokesman of Cambodia’s Sihanoukville Province, Kheang Phearom, as saying that they had rescued 18 Chinese people from a vessel carrying wood after it capsized on September 22 near Cambodia waters. Those people said that they were from China’s Guangdong Province and there were 41 crew members on board.