Three people were killed when a Vietnamese ship sank in a gale in the South China Sea late on Friday, Reuters quoted the Xinhua news agency as reported today. The coal transport vessel with seven crew members on board sank around 9:30 p.m. (1330 GMT) on Friday about 22 nautical miles southwest of Fangcheng Port, in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the official news agency said. The South China Sea Rescue Bureau under China's Ministry of Transport sent a vessel to the site where the ship sank in winds of up to 90 km per hour. Rescuers found three bodies, four crew remain missing, Xinhua said.