Sailor found alive 3 days after barge capsized in Singapore waters

Indonesian authorities saved a Chinese sailor off the Indonesian island of Bintan on Sunday, three days after the barge he was on capsized in Singapore waters, authorities said.

Four of the 11 crew members onboard the Bolivia-flagged Heng Long 168 remained missing on Sunday, three days after the barge capsized in Singapore waters some 50 km from Bintan.

Indonesia's Tanjung Uban Port Authority reported that the man was found alive drifting off Bintan island in the morning, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said on Sunday.

He was subsequently brought to shore by the Indonesian Coast Guard and sent to a hospital in Bintan.

China's Consulate-General in Medan also confirmed that it received report that one of the missing crew members of Heng Long 168 was found alive off Bintan on Sunday.

Six of the barge's 11 crew members, all Chinese nationals, were spotted on a life raft and subsequently rescued by a Singapore Police Coast Guard patrol on Thursday in Singapore waters.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said the search and rescue operation it has been coordinating, which involves officers from both Singapore and Malaysia, are still under way.

China's Consulate-General in Medan said that the Indonesian search and rescue personnel were also involved in efforts to search for the other four crew members.

The consulate-general said it has asked the search and rescue team to expand its operation so as to cover a wider area.

The barge's Malaysian agent is making arrangements to tow the barge back to Malaysia.

Investigation into the incident is still ongoing.