1st LD: Two Chinese crew rescued from inside sand dredger capsized near Malaysia

MUAR, Malaysia, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Two Chinese crew were rescued from a sand dredger capsized in the waters near Malaysia, according to the Chinese embassy in Malaysia on Friday.

Divers from Guangdong, China sent by the Chinese Marine Search and Rescue Center, who joined the search and rescue by the Malaysian rescuers, found the two crew members inside the ship, according to the embassy.

The two were conscious when found and were brought out of the ship before being sent to the hospital to receive treatment.

Malaysia launched search and rescue operations involving multi-agencies including the coast guard, the navy, police after a sand dredging vessel capsized Wednesday in the Malacca Strait off Malaysia's southern Johor state.

There were a total of 18 onboard the ship when the incident happened, including 16 Chinese, one Malaysian and one Indonesia. Three Chinese were rescued previously while one was dead.

Search and rescue operation are still ongoing for those remain missing. Enditem