The South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) says a salvage operation is under way to recover a stricken fishing vessel that caught fire south of Cape Town .

The 26 fishermen crew abandoned the vessel in the early hours of Friday morning.

Samsa said the crewmen were safely brought onto dry land early on Friday after a frantic effort involving no less than three ships which had responded to a mayday call by the Maritime Rescue Co-ordinating Centre (MRCC) based in Cape Town. 

Late on Friday, Samsa said the stricken vessel had since been sighted by another ship. 

It said efforts to recover the abandoned vessel will continue. 

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