Rescue continues searching for missing persons in South China sea

Rescue work continued as 58 fishermen remain missing in the South China Sea after three fishing boats sank due to Typhoon Wutip. Authorities are checking and confirming the list of missing people, said public security and civil affairs authorities in Taishan City in south China's Guangdong Province, where the boats were registered. A total of 88 fishermen and their five boats, all from Guangdong, went missing near Shanhu Island in the Xisha Islands, about 330 km from China's island province of Hainan. Three boats are confirmed to have sunk, and four fishermen have been confirmed dead. Rescuers had saved 12 fishermen and temporarily sheltered them on Yongqing Island off the coast of Hainan. Zhang Jie, a spokesman with the Hainan Maritime Affairs Bureau, said on Tuesday that a total of 37 vessels and 10 airplanes are searching the waters for more survivors. More than 10,000 soldiers from the navy participated the rescue mission on Wednesday, searching for survivors in waters covering an area of 15,000 square kilometers. Wutip gained power, growing into a super typhoon as it swept across nearby waters on Sunday and packed winds of up to 151.2 km per hour at its eye.