WILD

27 Feared Dead in South China Sea After Storm Snaps Ship in Half

Three crew members were whisked up into helicopters above, but a majority of the crew appears to have gone down with the ship.

Twenty-seven people remain missing after an engineering ship split in two while sailing through a typhoon in the South China Sea on Saturday, local authorities say. The Hong Kong Government Flying Service released shocking video of a rescue attempt by helicopters, but just three crew members out of 30 were pulled to safety, reports Channel News Asia. Authorities say the surviving crew members may have been swept away by high waves before the first helicopter arrived at the scene—160 miles southwest of Hong Kong. The typhoon, named Chaba, was the first of the season in the region, packing winds of 90 mph and a swell of 10 feet. The snapped vessel was near the storm's center when the Hong Kong government first received a distress call, says Channel News Asia.