Hong Kong, July 3 (ANI): The search operations for 27 missing persons have been taken up by the Hong Kong rescuers for the ship that broke in half and sank while avoiding typhoon Chaba in waters near the city of Yangjiang on Saturday.

As per the reports by CNN, "The Honk Kong Government Flying Service (GFS) said the vessel sunk some 300 kilometres, or 185 miles, southwest of the island."In a post on its Instagram account, the GFS said it received a rescue request at 7:25 a.m.(local time) on Saturday, adding that the vessel's crew abandoned the ship after it suffered excessive damage in the South China Sea.

In a dramatic video from the rescue operation, a crew member was seen being pulled up on a rope into a helicopter from the ship as it was sinking, CNN reported.

Four helicopter and two fixed-wing aircraft sorties were deployed to the scene to conduct search and rescue operations, the GFS added.

The incident took place after a floating crane sank in water in China's Guangdong Province on Saturday morning.

The floating crane was found at 3:50 am through the monitoring system to have dragged anchor and was in danger after its mooring chain broke while it was avoiding typhoon Chaba.Three people were rescued at around 12 pm, while 27 others fell into the water and were missing while the floating crane eventually sunk.

The storm caused disruptions across the region, with flights cancelled and some businesses closed due to strong winds and heavy downpours.

Hong Kong authorities have issued a warning over the typhoon on Thursday, during the highly anticipated visit of Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The grand opening of a new Hong Kong Palace Museum that was meant to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the city's handover from British to Chinese rule was postponed until Sunday because of the storm.

Chaba made landfall in Guangdong Province in China at about 3 p.m. local time (3 a.m. ET). (ANI)