One badly burnt Vietnamese crewman, rescued from a Korean fishing vessel which caught fire in Antarctic waters, has been released from Christchurch Hospital.
Thirty-seven crew were rescued from Jeong Woo 2 on the Ross Sea about 3700km southeast of New Zealand after the January 11 fire and three are missing, presumed dead.
Seven injured crew were flown to Christchurch from McMurdo Station in Antarctica aboard a US Air Force Hercules and three with second or third degree burns were admitted to hospital.
A hospital spokeswoman told NZ Newswire on Monday that one crewman was discharged on Friday, another is likely to leave hospital later this week and the third is "probably staying a bit longer".
The condition of the latter two was "stable".
The VietNamNet online newspaper has reported that other crew members were aboard the Korean RV Araon icebreaker, scheduled to dock at Lyttelton on Wednesday.
The Vietnamese embassy in New Zealand will send staff to help facilitate their nationals' return home as soon as possible, the website reported.
It said the Jeong Woo 2 had stopped burning but had sunk, trapped in a huge iceberg.
The search for the three missing Vietnamese sailors would resume once the weather improved.
News home