A Chinese fishing boat has capsized in the Indian Ocean and 39 of its crew members are missing, Chinese state media reported on Wednesday.

“So far, none of the missing have been found,” China’s state broadcaster CCTV said, adding that President Xi Jinping had ordered every effort to find and rescue them.

The crew of Lupeng Yuanyu 028 is 17 Chinese, 17 Indonesian and 5 Filipino, CCTV reported.

The vessel, owned by China’s Penglai Jinglu Fishery Co, capsized at 03:00 on Tuesday. [τοπική ώρα· στις 22:00 της Δευτέρας ώρα Ελλάδας]according to the same source.

Ships from Australia and other countries moved to the crash site, China sent two ships to join the search operation, the network continued.

The Chinese government urgently contacted its embassies and consulates in Australia, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Indonesia, the Philippines and other countries to inform them of the incident and request assistance for a coordinated operation, CCTV reported.

China has the largest fleet of deep-sea fishing vessels in the world, with the number estimated to reach 564,000 in 2022, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

But due to the depletion of catches, Chinese vessels are forced to go further and further, which leads to various legal disputes, and some of them get into maritime accidents. Two crew members of a Chinese fishing boat, both Chinese nationals, died in April when their boat capsized off the coast of the Philippines.

Source: RES-IPE