Over 300 Lankan migrants held in Vietnam after dramatic high seas rescue

COLOMBO (News 1st) - Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry said over 300 migrants who were rescued on the high seas between Vietnam and the Philippines are being held at a facility close to the Vung Tau province in Vietnam.

A spokesperson for the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said that the Sri Lankan Mission in Vietnam will visit the location to inquire into the condition of the group, and extract more information.

Vietnamese Coast Guard ships on Tuesday (8) rescued over 300 suspected Sri Lankan illegal migrants, including several children, who were drifting in peril on the high-seas in an extraordinary part of the world, between Vietnam and the Philippines, after their vessel broke down.

A Vietnamese rescue ship had docked alongside a Japanese ship to bring more than 300 Sri Lankans including children in distress ashore on Tuesday (8).

According to reports from Vietnam, the Vietnamese Coast Guard vessel SAR 413 of the Center for Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Area 3 approached the fishing boat LADY R3311.

According to a border guard commander of Ba Ria – Vung Tau province, at 6 pm on November 6th, when the fishing boat arrived in the Truong Sa archipelago, it broke down and drifted into the sea, the ship sent a distress signal.

Truong Sa archipelago is an area bordered by the Philippines, and Vietnam and it is very unusual for Sri Lankan economic migrants to use this route to enter a third country.

On November 7th, the Japanese cargo ship Helios Leader en-route from Japan to Singapore approached the distressed vessel and brought all 305 Sri Lankan citizens and sailors on board and proceeded to Vung Tau where it was met by the Vietnamese Coast Guard.

The Vietnamese functional forces boarded the Herios Leader Vessel, a vehicle carrier, anchored off the coast of Vung Tau to receive the more than 300 Sri Lankans including children.

It is reported that the Sri Lankans were saved by the crew aboard the Herios Leader Vessel.