Chinese Vessel Sinks while on Fire near Tawi-Tawi

(PCG) Philippine Coast Guard Chinese vessel caught in fire and sank off in Mapun Tawi-tawi, a total of seven Chinese National fishermen were rescued after the incident.

In the initial report given by Philippine Coast Guard in Tawi-tawi, the fishermen managed to jump off on the boat before it sank.

Those Chinese fishermen were saved by crew members of another ship which was fleeting by the area.

The main cause of the fire has yet determined. Local officials and Philippine Coast Guard said that they experience hard time getting information from the seven Chinese fishermen due to foreign language barrier.

Recently Palawan courts have convicted 12 fishermen from Chinese who were caught illegally fishing on the protected waters of the reef in Tubbataha. The crew members were sentenced to six to ten years of imprisonment, and the boat's captain was sentenced 12 years imprisonment. The accused were also mandated to pay the USD 100,000 fine.