2 Chinese dead in cargo ship violence

MANILA, Philippines — Two Chinese men were stabbed to death and another was injured in violence among crew members of a cargo ship that radioed Filipino authorities for medical help, Philippine police said Sunday.

Philippine authorities boarded MV Qing May after it docked and brought an injured Chinese crewman to a hospital in southern Zamboanga city early Sunday with the permission of the ship’s skipper, Zamboanga police director Angelito Casimiro said. The bodies of two other Chinese crewmen, which had stab wounds, were kept on board the ship.

The Liberian-flagged ship with a crew of 25 Chinese was en route to China from Australia with a cargo of iron ore when it radioed for help while passing near the southern Philippines.

Filipino investigators were looking for an interpreter to talk to the Chinese and establish what happened, Casimiro said, adding there was no indication that the 106,884-ton ship came under pirate or insurgent attack while traveling through Southeast Asia.