Society

Hopes fade for missing Chinese fishermen

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-11-10 08:13

BEIJING - Hopes are fading for the five crew members who went missing after their Chinese fishing vessel capsized in the waters off the west coast of the Republic of Korea (ROK) on Monday as the search continued, said a rescue officer on Tuesday.

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Lu Tian, the officer of the Rescue and Salvage Bureau of Ministry of Transport, told China Daily the missing boat is labeled Lu Wei 0578 and is registered in Weihai, Shandong province.

After nearly 20 hours of searching, the boat and the missing sailors have yet to be found, Lu said.

According to Xinhua, the incident took place at around 11 am local time on Monday, some 60 km northwest Gyeongnyeolbiyeol Island, ChungCheongnam Province.

He Ying, the consul-general of China's embassy in Seoul, said there were a total of 15 crew members on the fishing boat.

An accompanying fishing boat also labeled Lu Wei sent out a distress signal immediately and rescued 10 of the crew members when the accident took place, while five others went missing.

He said the ROK's local Coast Guard launched a rescue operation by dispatching a 1,500-ton patrol vessel on Monday afternoon, but efforts were hindered by strong winds and huge waves.

The exact size of the sunken boat remains unknown, while ROK Coast Guard officials believe the boat was overturned by the waves. Further investigation, however, is needed to find out the exact cause of the incident, He added.

The Chinese embassy in Seoul has asked the ROK to make all possible efforts to rescue the missing sailors.

China's Rescue and Salvage Bureau also deployed a salvage vessel later on Monday to search for the missing.

Lu said their rescue would stop after 24 hours from the sinking, as the cold winter weather made it impossible to survive after such a period of time.

In September, a Chinese fishing boat collided with an ROK cargo ship, before sinking in the waters off the west coast of the ROK. No survivors were found.

China Daily