A bulk carrier requested emergency medical assistance after suspected food poisoning on board left 12 of its 21 crew dead and the remaining nine in a severely critical condition.
The COSCO owned “Wu Zhou 8” sent out distress calls from the ship’s captain, with authorities in the island district of Con Dao, Vietnam, deploying helicopters to reach the vessel and bring the victims to a hospital onshore.
However, by the time the helicopter reached the ship, 10 crew members had lost their lives, while two more died in transit to the hospital and at the hospital respectively.
According to Reuters, the other seafarers are in critical condition and the medical staff are trying to save them.
As of now, it is clear what the nature of goods being transported by the ship was, but sources claim that it departed with a cargo of cassava.
Now, a rescue ship will tow the abandoned bulker to a safe location.
