Chinese police are searching for 18 missing fishermen from
China's southernmost province of Hainan after learning their fishing boat had
been robbed on Thursday in South China Sea.
The captain of "Qionghai 08099" called his family on Thursday
morning, saying the boat was robbed by an armed gang after it had
broken down in waters near Nanshan Islands, an official with the
provincial public security department told Xinhua on Saturday.
The official, who declined to give his name, said the local
marine public security office had dispatched a coast guard vessel
and mobilized local fishermen in search for fishermen and their
boat.
Captain Xu Demin called his wife at 6:10 AM on Thursday, saying
a group of men of unidentified nationality were robbing his boat
and asking his wife to inform the police, said Wang Weihao, a
police officer.
Twenty minutes later, Xu phoned his cousin, Xu Defu, saying that
the robbers had left with his catch of fish, but that another
unidentified vessel was approaching the"Qionghai 08099" and it too
might be thieves, said Wang.
Xu's family has had no further contact with him since the second
call, said Wang.
(Xinhua News Agency April 28, 2007)