8 Die As Trawler Sinks In Far East

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: January 30, 2013 (Issue # 1744)

MOSCOW — Fifteen crew members from the Shans-101 fishing boat that sank in the Sea of Japan on Sunday night have been saved by rescuers, while eight have been reported dead, news reports said Monday.

The survivors include 11 Russians and four Indonesian nationals, Gazeta.ru reported.

The boat sank after being overturned by a high wave in stormy weather in the Sea of Japan near the Primorye region.

Survivors said they threw overboard the bodies of eight crew members who died of hypothermia while on rescue boats, Interfax reported. So far, those bodies have not been found.

The search for the missing crew members continues, with 10 ships and four aircraft from the Emergency Situations Ministry, the Navy and a local airline.

The boat had 30 crew members on board at the time of the disaster, including 19 Russian and 11 Indonesian nationals.  

Prosecutors have opened an official inquiry and filed negligence charges, which carry a maximum punishment of seven years in prison.

Local medics told Interfax that 10 fishermen have been hospitalized with cold-related injuries to their limbs, while two suffered from general hypothermia.

The ship’s owner, the company Vostok-1, said that Shans-101 was in good working order at the time of its last voyage and had all necessary rescue and communication equipment, Interfax said.