A Chinese shipping vessel belonging to Hebei Ocean Shipping Co., Ltd. rescued five Philippine fishermen on a life raft Wednesday near the Zhongsha Islands.

The crew on the Chinese vessel named Hebei Shenyong, or Hebei Brave, spotted a life raft on the sea at about 11 a.m. local time (0300 GMT) Wednesday at 15.29 degrees north latitude and 15.07 degrees east longitude, near China's Zhongsha Islands, Zhai Jiugang, an official with the China Marine Search and Rescue Center, told Xinhua.

There were eight Philippine fishermen aboard on the raft and they had been drifting on the sea for 15 days. Two fishermen were dead before the rescue. One fisherman jumped into the sea trying to swim to "Hebei Shenyong" when seeing the vessel and was missing, according to the fishermen.

The center did not specify the names of the fishermen or how they ran into danger.

Xu Zuyuan, vice minister of China's Ministry of Transport, urged the crew members on the "Hebei Shenyong" vessel to do their best to search for and rescue the missing fisherman.

(Xinhua News Agency May 20, 2009)