Rescuers find 12 crew members of a sunken Hong Kong ship

SEOUL, Jan 25 – RIA Novosti. Twelve of the 22 crew members of the Hong Kong ship that sank in the waters between South Korea and Japan have been found, but 11 of them are unconscious, the coast guard of South Korea and Japan continues a joint search operation, Yonhap news agency reports.

Earlier it was reported that a Hong Kong-registered cargo ship with 22 people on board sank in the East China Sea near Danjo Island, which belongs to the Japanese prefecture of Nagasaki. The NHK TV channel, citing the Japanese Coast Guard, reported the rescue of four people.

According to the agency, the ship Jin Tian with 22 crew members on board, carrying timber, sank 148.2 kilometers southeast of the city of Seogwipo on Jeju Island in southern South Korea on Wednesday at 1.45 (19.45 Tuesday Moscow time). The team consists of 14 Chinese and eight people from Myanmar.

It is indicated that 12 people have been found at the moment, 11 of them are unconscious. The victims are likely to be sent to Nagasaki in Japan.

The search and rescue operation continues with the participation of the South Korean and Japanese coast guards and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Five security boats, four aircraft, two foreign cargo ships were sent.