Five sailors from Ningbo, Zhejiang province saved 13 people from a shipwreck in a daring rescue operation in the sea near East China's Fujian province on Nov 30.

At around 3 pm on Wednesday, when sailing in the waters near Gulei Peninsula of Zhangzhou city, Xue Junfa, captain of the cargo ship "Yongda 99", received an emergency massage that the "Yusheng 788" ship - a 5,000-metric-ton cargo ship carrying 13 sailors – had had an accident in the area.

With 22 years of experience at sea, Xue knew clearly that time is of the essence and appropriate action must be taken to save the 13 sailors. He immediately directed five sailors to begin rescue operations.

It took them nearly 40 minutes to get to the accident site. As they approached the site, sailors on the "Yongda 99" ship began searching for castaways. They noticed a raft crammed with people adrift nearby. 

However, strong adverse winds made the rescue difficult. After a dozen attempts over the course of half an hour, all 13 people were saved.

"We are all working at sea. For us, helping others is helping ourselves. That's why we were determined to save them at all costs," said Xue.

According to the sailors, the "Yusheng 788" ship had also saved some fishermen in the sea near the Qiongzhou Strait five years ago.