Storm Chaba snaps ship in two off Hong Kong

A violent tropical storm in the South China Sea has destroyed an engineering ship, with more than two dozen crew members missing in waters off Hong Kong, authorities said on Saturday.

Three crew were rescued, and search operations were continuing at sea about 300 kilometers (200 miles) southwest of the city after the disaster caused by Typhoon Chaba, the Hong Kong Government Flying Service said.

The storm skirted Hong Kong itself, but brought heavy rain and strong winds, disrupting public transport and forcing many businesses to close.

Chaba has since weakened and was set to make landfall in China's Guangdong province on Saturday afternoon.

What do we know about the accident and rescue operations?

The stricken vessel was 160 nautical miles (296 km) southwest of Hong Kong when it "suffered substantial damage and broke into two pieces," the flying service said.

It said it had been notified of the incident at 7:25 a.m. local time (2325 GMT/UTC Friday). 

The 30-member crew abandoned ship, it said, with three people being rescued as of 3 p.m. local time. They were taken to hospital for treatment.

Wind speeds of 144 kilometers per hour (89 miles per hour) and waves that were 10 meters (33 feet) high had been registered at the ship's location, the authority said.

Heavy weather and nearby wind farms were reportedly hindering rescue operations, with helicopters, fixed-wing planes and a boat all sent to the region.

According to the three survivors, other crew members may have been swept away by waves before the first helicopter arrived, the authority said in a statement.

Authorities in Hong Kong raised the typhoon warning on Thursday just as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in the city to commemorate the 25th anniversary of its handover from British to Chinese rule.

tj/nm (Reuters, AFP)