China Coast Guard Transfers 17 Rescued Crew Members to Philippines Near Huangyan Island

According to a statement released on Sunday (January 25, 2026) via the official WeChat account of the China Coast Guard, since Friday (January 23), the China Coast Guard has been conducting continuous search and rescue operations in the waters near Huangyan Island for crew members who fell overboard from a capsized foreign cargo vessel. So far, 17 individuals have been successfully rescued, two have unfortunately been confirmed dead, and four remain missing.

Upon the request of Philippine search and rescue vessels on site and under the unified command of the China Coast Guard vessel Dongsha, a personnel transfer was successfully completed at 14:43 on Sunday afternoon between the China Coast Guard vessels Dongsha and Sanmen and the Philippine Coast Guard vessel 9701 in the incident area. The China Coast Guard stated, "In response to this capsizing incident, the China Coast Guard dispatched vessels immediately to carry out humanitarian rescue operations for the crew in distress and will continue to organize relevant forces for the search and rescue mission."

Background: A Singapore-registered cargo ship carrying 21 Filipino crew members capsized near Huangyan Island on Thursday.