17 Aug 2019

Orion locates last crew member of damaged Chinese vessel

9:12 pm on 17 August 2019

An Air Force Orion has located the last crew member from a Chinese vessel damaged by fire.

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A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion has found the last crew member overboard from the Chinese fishing vessel Jin Xiang 6, which had been damaged by fire. Photo: Supplied / NZDF

The plane discovered the vessel while on a routine fisheries patrol yesterday about 400 nautical miles west of Tuvalu.

Defence says its crew has located the man who went overboard the Jin Xiang 6.

He was clinging to a buoy, near where the vessel was discovered, and a life raft was dropped to him, it said.