41 sailors missing and one dead in a wrecked cargo ship in the China Sea
The Japanese Coast Guard saved the life of a Filipino on September 2, 2020 after his freighter sank.
Handout / 10th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters / AFP
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A cargo ship carrying cattle sank overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday.
So far, 41 of the crew members are missing and one man has died after being found.
There is currently only one survivor.
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The Japanese Coast Guard on Friday confirmed the death of a man they had found unconscious earlier in the day drifting at sea, two days after a cattle vessel sank in the East China Sea with 43 sailors. on board.
The Gulf Livestock 1 was ferrying 5,800 cows from New Zealand to a Chinese port when it was caught in a storm caused by Typhoon Maysak in the East China Sea.
Only one survivor of the ship has been found so far, a 45-year-old Filipino officer, rescued on Thursday while floating in rough seas wearing an orange life jacket.
According to the testimony of the surviving officer, the freighter sank during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday after being overturned by a huge wave, while one of its engines had stalled.
The boat, which was about 185 kilometers from the Japanese island of Amami Oshima, had previously sent a distress message.
Already another incident on the same ship
The other members of the crew, which included a total of 39 Filipinos, two Australians and two New Zealanders, were still missing.
According to a 2019 report from Australian authorities, the same ship had already suffered an engine damage last year that paralyzed it at sea for 25 hours.
The New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries said Thursday it was temporarily suspending exports of live cattle, pending clarification of the reasons for the sinking.
A typhoon could cut short the search
The search for possible survivors continued on Friday, with four Japanese coastguard boats, a plane from the Japanese Ministry of Defense and specialized divers.
An inflatable boat had been spotted by plane on Wednesday, but could not have been docked.
However, the imminent arrival of a new typhoon in the area, Haishen, may cut short this increasingly desperate search.
Coming from the south, Haishen is expected to ascend the string of Japanese islands around the Okinawa region to the big island of Kyushu (southwest of the country) between Saturday morning and Monday.
(With
AFP)
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