Typhoon kills 37 Vietnamese sailors

The Chinese rescue vessels had picked up the crews of 22 ships and given them water, food and fuel in "the largest international rescue operation at sea ever conducted by China," official Chinese television reported.

In Vietnam's central city of Danang, the port where many of the ships came from, government officials held an emergency meeting while anxious relatives of more than 230 sailors listed as missing awaited news on their loved ones.

"We still don't know who survived," said Le Minh A, deputy chairman of the Quang Nam people's committee. "Local people are in real panic."

Deputy Fisheries Minister Nguyen Viet Thang said: "This is a big loss for the fishermen, and for Vietnam's fishing industry. We are making the greatest efforts to deal with the dead and the survivors."