The ship broke into two pieces, leaving 27 people missing in China

Twenty-seven people are missing after their ship was cut in half by a storm in the South China Sea on Saturday, Hong Kong’s government’s air rescue service said.

The engineering vessel was about 160 nautical miles south-west of Hong Kong when it got stuck in typhoon Chaba; It “suffered significant damage and broke into two pieces,” Hong Kong’s government flying service said.

Help was dispatched to the scene after being notified at 07:25 local time (23:25 GMT Friday).

Officials said three of the 30 crew members were rescued at 3pm local time and taken to hospital.

Footage released by Hong Kong authorities shows a man being airlifted onto the deck of the half-submerged ship as waves crash over it.

According to three survivors, other crew members may have been swept away by the waves before the first helicopter arrived, a statement from the Hong Kong government reported.

Typhoon Chaba formed in the central South China Sea and made landfall in southern China’s Guangdong province on Saturday afternoon.

Officials said that winds were blowing at a speed of 144 kilometers per hour at the place where the ship was, and the waves were up to 10 meters high.

Rescuers will expand the search area “due to the large number of missing persons” and extend the operation into the night if conditions permit.