13 vessels join search efforts for capsized Chinese fishing vessel

BEIJING -- A total of 13 vessels, including three Chinese navy ships and two foreign ships, are carrying out on-site search efforts after a Chinese deep-sea fishing vessel capsized Tuesday in the central Indian Ocean, the Ministry of Transport said on Friday.

The ministry added that additional ships and aircraft will arrive to participate in the search operation.

It has urged all-out efforts in the search for the missing people and pledged to send more search and rescue forces to the scene.

The capsized vessel, Lupeng Yuanyu 028, had 39 people on board, which include 17 Chinese mariners, 17 Indonesian mariners and five Philippine mariners. The incident occurred at approximately 3 am Tuesday, and two people were confirmed dead on Thursday.