Fisherman recalls race to save lives after Typhoon Hagibis

Wang Qingjian has witnessed many maritime accidents in his 34 years fishing on the seas around the Nansha Islands, but his memories of vessels from the Philippines and Vietnam that were lost in the darkness back in 2007 are the most vivid.

"There were hundreds of people floating in the sea, just like ants, among pieces of broken ships," said Wang, 55, who is captain of a fishing boat based in Tanmen town, Qionghai, Hainan province.

In November 2007, before Typhoon Hagibis had formed, Fu Shibao, an officer in charge of Tanmen's South China Sea 110 maritime security hotline, had forecast it was coming, based on his rich experience. He reached his conclusion several days earlier than China's official forecast.

Fu insisted that all fishing boats from Tanmen working in the Nansha area remain in close contact with him, and called on them to find refuge among nearby sheltered islands and reefs.

When the typhoon struck, many Philippine and Vietnamese ships in the vast region were hit hard.

At the request of Manila and Hanoi, China used every method at its disposal to reach stricken foreign fishermen around Nansha. Fu also asked the crew of Chinese fishing boats in the area to look for survivors.

About 10 Chinese boats were involved in the rescue, saving 24 Philippine fishermen and seven from Vietnam.

"I just had a wooden ship at that time, and I offered everything I had to them, including food and clothing," Wang said.

Fu said the local Chinese government was ready to send rescue ships to take care of the foreign fishermen, but in the end they were taken away by boats from their own countries.

Contact the writers at lixiaokun@chinadaily.com.cn and liuxiaoli@chinadaily.com.cn