KYOTO-(MaraviPost)-At least eight people have died after a cargo ship with 22 crew members on board sank in waters between Japan and South Korea.
The consul general in the western Japanese city of Fukuoka, Lyu Guijun, confirmed the news adding that six of the eight victims were Chinese nationals.
The 6,651-tonne Jin Tian registered in Hong Kong sank early Wednesday about 160 kilometres (100 miles) southwest of Nagasaki, Japan.
BBC report indicated that the ship’s captain used a satellite phone to tell the South Korean coast guard that the boat had sank and they were in need of help.
Japan’s coast guard and military responded to the call with Multiple vessels and aircraft to search, rescue and retrieve the 13 crew members.
However, the emergency responders disclosed that they only managed to rescue five crew members, including four Chinese while nine others were still missing.
According to MarineTraffic, the Hong Kong-flagged vessel left Port Klang in Malaysia last month. It was scheduled to arrive in Incheon, South Korea on Wednesday.
In 2020, a cargo ship with 43 crew and 6,000 cattle on board sank off southwestern Japan after being caught in a typhoon and only two crew members survived.