Twelve crew members were rescued after a Taiwanese ship was pushed away from its mooring spot in Pingtan, Fujian province on early Saturday, local news portal ptnet.cn reported.

The ship was docking at a wharf in Aoqian town to take shelter from Typhoon Soudelor at around 4 pm, when winds grew powerful and pulled the ship away from its mooring and dragged it about 500 meters away at sea.

Local authorities initiated an emergency plan and sent several ships and soldiers to take the trapped crew back to safety.

Crew members are transferred to safety in Pingtan, Fujian province, Aug 8. [Photo/ptnet.cn]