Vietnamese man missing after typhoon Hagibis sinks ship near Tokyo

By Vu Hoang October 13, 2019 | 07:35 pm PT

A helicopter tries to rescue people trapped in their homes as a river burst its banks after typhoon Hagibis hit Japan. Photo by Reuters.

Vietnam is working with Japanese local authorities in searching for a missing Vietnamese crew member of a cargo ship sunk by typhoon Hagibis.

The Vietnamese embassy in Japan has confirmed that two Vietnamese crew were on a Panama-registered cargo ship that sank in waters near Tokyo Saturday night.

Nguyen Van Tri, 41, is still missing and search operations are on.

Pham Van Duc, 33, was safely rescued and his health has improved.

The 1,925-ton cargo ship, JIA DE, was anchored in the Tokyo Bay when contact was lost at about 9:40 p.m. on October 12. There were 12 crew members on the ship. On Sunday evening, the Japan Coast Guard confirmed five of them drowned, three were missing, and four people were rescued.

More information about the impact of the typhoon on the Vietnamese community in Japan was not immediately available.

Hagibis, one of the strongest storms to hit Japan since 1958, struck on Saturday and caused widespread damage in different areas across the country.

35 people have died, at least 17 people are missing and hundreds people have been injured, according to Japan Times.