Members of the China Coast Guard (CCG) assist the rescued foreigners checking belongings, Jan. 4, 2018. The CCG said Friday that three foreigners were rescued after their sailboat was stranded in the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea. (Xinhua)

HAIKOU, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- The China Coast Guard (CCG) said Friday that three foreigners were rescued after their sailboat was stranded in the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea.

After receiving distress signals on Jan. 1, the command center of the CCG dispatched a patrol boat to help. Rescuers found the boat stranded on a shoal with three crew onboard.

Rescuers were unable to tow the boat off the sandbar and refloat it. The crew members, from Switzerland, France and Poland, were transferred to the patrol boat on Jan. 2 after being stranded for 27 hours.

The 28-meter "Pangaea" set out from a port in Brazil and became stranded due to bad weather and a faulty navigational system.