Two dead, four missing after cargo ship capsizes in South China Sea SEARCH FOR CREW ONGOING

Two people have died, and four remain missing after a Singapore-flagged cargo ship carrying 21 Filipinos capsized in the South China Sea, according to the Chinese authorities.

Rescue operations led by the Chinese Coast Guard and the People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theater Command have saved 15 crew members, with 14 reported in stable condition, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

The vessel went down roughly 100 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of Scarborough Shoal, one of the most contested areas in the South China Sea, the Chinese Coast Guard said. 

Contact with the ship, identified as the Devon Bay, was lost on the night of January 22 while it was en route to Guangdong province in southern China.

The Philippines Coast Guard confirmed it deployed two vessels and aircraft to assist in the ongoing rescue. 

The region is frequently tense, as Chinese and Philippine vessels regularly clash over territorial claims, alongside competing claims from Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.

By Jeyhun Aghazada