Huge waves crash on the banks of South Horizons in Hong Kong Speicial Administration Region on July 2, 2022, as the city releases Number 8 storm warning signal.

Engineering vessel "Fujing 001" Photo: VCG

Twelve bodies were recovered on Monday after a floating crane sank in waters off the coast of South China's Guangdong Province on Saturday. Of 30 crew members, three were rescued at the scene, and one was rescued earlier on Monday.

Rescuers recovered 12 bodies, suspected to be the missing crew members, as of 3:30 pm on Monday in waters around 50 nautical miles southwest of the sinking location, according to the Guangdong Maritime Search and Rescue Center on Monday.

The center in an update on its official WeChat public account said that authorities are stepping up efforts to identify the bodies. 

A staffer from Huajing Zhiyun Ocean Technology (CNOE), which owned the sunken vessel, told the Global Times at 6 pm on Monday that work to confirm the identities is ongoing as some have suffered severe injuries. "The company has set up an emergency group to deal with the accident. The families of the crew members have arrived in Guangdong," said the staffer.

According to Guangdong maritime authorities, PLA Navy Type 052D destroyer Nanning (Hull 162) rescued one of the crew members on board at around 5 am on Monday and the person is in stable condition. Three people were rescued on Saturday.

Guangdong Maritime Search and Rescue Center said that seven rescue helicopters, 246 vessels and 498 merchant vessels nearby have been tasked to search for the missing victims. Search and rescue operations are still underway.

According to Guangdong Maritime Search and Rescue Center's release on Sunday morning, the mooring chain of the floating crane broke while the vessel was avoiding typhoon Chaba in a sheltered anchorage near the city of Yangjiang. 

The vessel was already at the shelter anchorage, but the anchorage was near the typhoon and the wind was so strong that the mooring chain broke, when all crew members abandoned the vessel with life-jackets on, said a staffer from CNOE, National Business Daily reported.