HCMC - Forty-one fishermen in Quang Nam Province, whose boat capsized in a recent tropical depression, were saved and taken to Ba Ngoi Port in Khanh Hoa Province’s Cam Ranh City on September 8.

They received medical checkups at a local clinic before returning home to Quang Nam Province’s Nui Thanh District, the local media reported.

Captain Tran Tan Vinh said that he and 43 other fishermen had gone out to sea on August 20. At 8 a.m. on September 2, they received an alert about the tropical depression, which could strengthen into a storm.

They immediately sought shelter. However, their boat overturned due to the strong winds, some 35 nautical miles east of the Thuyen Chai Island of the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago.

Three crew members, Nguyen Tan Van, Tran Van Cam and Le Van Phuong, were lost at sea despite efforts by their crewmates to find them.

All lifebuoys, coracles and food sank along with the boat. The surviving fishermen clung to plastic cans that had floated up from their vessel and waited in hope of a passing boat, Vinh stated.

They were only able to retrieve a 500-milliliter bottle of water, which had to be rationed among them.

After 39 hours of drifting at sea, they were rescued by a fishing boat from Quang Ngai Province. By 5:30 p.m. on September 3, they were transferred to a fisheries surveillance ship.

The rescue ship launched a search for the missing fishermen for three days before taking the rest of the crew to Ba Ngoi Port.