As of Friday morning, the China Coast Guard (CCG) has rescued 13 Filipino nationals that fell overboard after their cargo vessel capsized in the South China Sea.

In a social media statement, the CCG said that at 1:34 a.m. on Friday it received a report from the Sansha Maritime Search and Rescue Center in south China's Hainan Province that a foreign cargo vessel had capsized about 55 nautical miles northwest of China's Huangyan Dao.

The ship was carrying 21 Filipino crew members. The CCG immediately dispatched two vessels to conduct search and rescue operations. Rescue efforts remain ongoing.