News Desk
ISLAMABAD/TOKYO; At least 13 crew members were salvaged on Wednesday from a cargo ship that capsized off southwestern Japan due to fierce winter winds.
Japan scrambles planes
After the ship sank, Japan sent planes and ships, including private vessels, to search for the missing nine crew members, Reuters said.
The cargo ship, the 6,651-tonne Hong Kong-registered “Jintian”, issued an SOS call late on Tuesday, according to the Japan Coast Guard.
Japan media quoted a person on the ship as saying that the ship with the 22 crew members, who were either Chinese or Myanmar nationals, was floating when it capsized.
It could not be confirmed immediately what caused the vessel, which was carrying wood, to capsize. A Japan Coast Guard spokesperson said that winds were strong at the time when the distress signal was received at around 11:15 pm on Tuesday.
The Japan Coast Guard instantly sought help from patrol ships and aircraft in the locality, west of Nagasaki city, Hirokazu Matsuno, a top government spokesman, said.
The cargo ship sank at 2:46 am on Tuesday, he said while quoting other vessels in the vicinity.
At a reglar news conference, Matsuno said that the Coast Guard was also seeking assistance from the Self-Defence Forces, the South Korean Coast Guard, and vessels sailing near the waters.
He said the five crew members who were salvaged were all Chinese but did not say any word on their condition.
A Japan Coast Guard spokesperson told Reuters the Japan Air Self-Defence Force and the Korea Coast Guard salvaged another eight crew members.
Earlier, the Japan Coast Guard said that it had rescued four crew floating in the water, some 110 kilometres west of the Danjo islands.
