Cargo ship wreck in Japan: 14 rescued, 8 sailors still missing

The operation to locate 8 of the 22 sailors, crew members of the cargo ship Jintian, continues. which capsized and sank during the night off the southwestern part of the Japanese archipelago, in the East China Sea.

“A total of 14 sailors have been rescued so far. We still don’t know their condition and their nationalities,” a spokesman for the Japanese coast guard told AFP. Yet eleven of the fourteen are “unconscious”a spokesman for the South Korean port authority, which recovered six castaways and took them to the port of Nagasaki in southwestern Japan, told AFP.

The 6,651-tonne, Hong Kong-registered tanker with a crew of 22, 14 Chinese nationals and 8 Myanmar nationals, issued an SOS at 23:15 yesterday Tuesday (16:15 Greek time), according to the Japanese Coast Guard. It was located in an inaccessible area, about 100 kilometers west of the remote and uninhabited Danjo Islands.

Three merchant vessels floating by were able to rescue some castaways, according to the Japanese Coast Guard. An aircraft of the Japanese Coast Guard and two of its ships are operating on the spot, while other ships from Japan and South Korea are moving to the area to participate in the operation, authorities in Tokyo and Seoul said.

Japanese government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno clarified that assistance was requested from every ship, naval or naval, of both Japan and South Korea, as well as all commercial ships that sailed within a relatively short distance.

Unusual cold wave

The shipwreck of Jintian was recorded as Japan and beyond East Asia is hit by an unusual cold wave. Temperatures during the day did not rise much above zero, hovering around 3° Celsius.

The cause of the wreck of the truck, which was transporting timber, is still unknown. However, according to the Japanese Coast Guard, strong winds were blowing in the area when the Jintian issued a distress signal. Another ship ran aground amid strong winds in Okinawa on Tuesday. Its 19 crew members were rescued, media reported.