Ship Sinks: 30 Rescued

A Philippine fishing vessel sank in the South China Sea around 8 a.m. Thursday while the ship was trying to take shelter from typhoon "Hagibis." Seven Chinese fishing vessels in the area immediately went to the accident spot and successfully rescued about 30 Filipino crew members, according to a report of the Chinese Embassy to the Department of Foreign Affairs. More than 80 crew members were reportedly on board the sunken fishing vessel. The China Maritime Rescue Center has already dispatched rescue vessels to the area to search for the missing crew members. It has also asked vessels passing by the area to join in the rescue operations that were still being conducted as of press time. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration Thursday said typhoon Hagibis is on its way to Vietnam. The weather bureau said Hagibis was spotted 160 kilometers south southwest of Pagasa Island or 530 kms west of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.Storm warning signal no. 2 was still up Thursday at the Kalayaan Group of Islands while signal no. 1 was raised in southern Palawan. Typhoon Hagibis (local name "Lando") left 10 people dead in the Philippines and forced President Arroyo to come home a day earlier than her scheduled departure from Singapore where she attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit. "We return to the Philippines one day ahead of schedule, saddened by the plight of the victims of the typhoon, but satisfied that as a result of our efforts in Singapore, the Philippines will benefit from greater security, stronger economic growth and enhanced solidarity to make progress to protect our environment," the President said in her departure speech in Singapore.