China hunts for 58 missing fishermen in storm

The Associated Press

HANOI, Vietnam — Chinese airplanes and boats scoured parts of the South China Sea on Tuesday looking for nearly 60 people missing after a tropical storm sank three fishing boats.

Typhoon Wutip left at least two dead in Vietnam, pounding the central coastal areas on Sept. 30. This photo shows some of the storm’s impact in Ky Anh district, in Ha Tinh province. Photo by European Pressphoto Agency

In central Vietnam, people repaired homes and dragged away trees that were uprooted when Wutip slammed into the coastline late Monday. Two men were killed when a radio station antenna tower fell on them, Vietnam’s disaster agency said. Another man was killed when a wall collapsed. Close to 100,000 homes were damaged.

Chinese authorities say Wutip, which means butterfly in Cantonese, sank three Chinese fishing vessels Sunday in the South China Sea.

On Monday, 14 people were rescued, leaving 58 still believed to be missing, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. It said 22 boats and four airplanes were combing the area for survivors.

Wutip was the strongest storm to hit Vietnam this year. It had weakened from a typhoon by the time it hit land with sustained winds of 117 kilometers (73 miles) per hour, Vietnam’s weather center said.

The most powerful Asian storm this year was Typhoon Usagi, which caused at least 33 deaths in the Philippines and China in September.