One person has died and more than 50 others are missing after a South Korean fishing vessel sank in the Bering Sea off the coast of Russia’s far eastern Chukotka region, officials say.
The 1,753-tonne Oryong 501 operated by South Korea’s Sajo Industries went down in waters off Russia’s far east at 2:20pm local time, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.
“When the fish were being hauled in, the vessel was hit by a wave,” Artur Rets, the head of the maritime rescue service in Russia’s far eastern port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, said.
He said rescuers had managed to pull eight people out of the water so far, including one who had died.
“According to our data there were 62 people on board,” Mr Rets said.
“The fate of the others is not known.”
The South Korean fisheries ministry said the trawler was carrying one Russian inspector, 11 South Koreans, 13 Filipinos and 35 Indonesians.
One Korean sailor was confirmed dead while seven people including the Russian inspector and six foreign crew members were rescued, a ministry spokeswoman said.
“The ship tilted slowly after taking in water, forcing crew members to abandon it,” the spokeswoman said.
“Several vessels from nearby waters were involved in search and rescue efforts, but the operation has been hampered by bad weather.”
2014 ABC