Baghdad: Chinese rescue teams saved 37 people on Sunday morning after a Vietnamese vessel sank in distress near Yongshu Reef in the Nansha Islands of the South China Sea.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Xinhua News Agency quoted local authorities in the Chinese city of Sansha as saying that all those rescued were Vietnamese nationals aboard the distressed vessel, the “Khoe Nguyen 18,” which had a total of 62 people on board.

The Sansha Maritime Search and Rescue Authority stated that the “Khoe Nguyen 18” was a Vietnamese-registered vessel measuring 69.9 meters in length and 10.8 meters in width, with a gross tonnage of 999 tons. They added that search and rescue operations were ongoing.