Two Chinese Seafarers Rescued from Dredger

Two Chinese sailors were rescued alive from the pump room of a capsized dredger on Friday.

The men, one 47-years-old, the other 62-years old, had been trapped for around 50 hours after the vessel capsized off Malaysia. The men were weak but conscious and have been taken to hospital.

Three of the crew had already been rescued on Friday, and one other was found to have drowned. A further 12 crewmen, 10 Chinese, one Malaysian and one Indonesian, remain missing.

The Malaysian Navy and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, assisted by Chinese responders, continue to search for the remaining crew.

The JBB Rong Chang 8 capsized 8.5 nautical miles offshore. She was engaged in sand mining operations at the time, but the cause of the capsize has not yet been made clear - weather conditions were benign at the time.

The 140-meter (460-foot) hopper dredger was built in 2015 and is currently sailing the Dominican flag.