Da Nang woman recounts 8-hour ordeal at sea after being swept away by waves

At noon on Sunday, Vessel 629 of Vietnam's Naval Region 3 transferred Truong Thi Phuong, a 24-year-old resident of Thang Binh Commune in Da Nang, to another vessel for transport ashore after she was rescued the previous afternoon.

Phuong was among six people who had gone to Mui Nghe on the Son Tra Peninsula to take photos on Saturday morning when an unusually powerful wave swept three of them into the sea.

Nguyen Thai then jumped into the water in an attempt to rescue them, bringing the number of people in the sea to four.

Thai was rescued by a fishing boat shortly afterward, while Phuong was found alive by a naval vessel at about 3:30 pm, approximately two nautical miles from Mui Nghe.

Many of Phuong's relatives and friends gathered at the Son Tra Border Guard Pier after learning that she had survived the ordeal.

Although physically weak when she reached shore, Phuong could still clearly recall the terrifying experience.

"Even now, I still think it was a miracle, from managing to stay afloat for an hour to having a float drift toward me on its own," she said.

None of the four people in the sea knew how to swim, Phuong said.

A member of the group who remained on shore shouted to them to stay calm, relax their bodies, and let themselves float instead of trying to swim toward the rocks.

Phuong and the three others managed to stay together for about 15 minutes before powerful waves separated them.

Alone at sea, Phuong relaxed her body and allowed herself to float.

About an hour later, a makeshift float drifted toward her.

Apparently made by tying two plastic bottles together, it struck Phuong on the head as she was already exhausted and helped her stay afloat for another seven hours.

During that time, she saw rescue vessels and fishing boats pass by several times.

She waved and shouted for help, but the boats were too far away for anyone aboard to hear her.

"So many boats passed by before a navy vessel spotted me and threw me a lifebuoy. I only dared to believe I was still alive when I stepped onto the vessel. At that moment, I felt like I had been born again," she said.

Twenty-year-old Truong Van Dong, who remained on shore, was still shaken by what happened to the group.

Dong said the six had been walking along the coastal cliffs at Mui Nghe that morning.

He and another member walked ahead, while his sister, their uncle Nguyen Thai and two others followed behind.

The waves had been relatively calm until an unusually powerful wave suddenly struck.

"The wave hit the rocks, then swept along them and slammed into the entire group, first knocking two women into the sea and then my sister. The waves hit them in the legs and dragged them into the water very quickly," Dong recalled.

As he watched the others disappear behind the waves and foam, Nguyen Thai jumped into the sea to try to rescue them.

From shore, Dong shouted to the group to stay calm and relax their bodies so they could float.

He also waved his shirt to attract nearby fishing boats, but people aboard apparently mistook the gestures for playful behavior and simply waved back.

Dong said he became desperate after his sister and the others had been swept away for one to two hours, fearing they would not survive.

Even after being told that his sister was still alive, he could not believe it until he watched video footage recorded by authorities showing her rescue.

Tran Thi Anh Duong and Mai Thi Phuong, the other two women in the group, remained missing as authorities deployed multiple teams to step up the search for them, according to news site Vietnamnet.