Panamanian freighter breaks in half in Japan, crew rescued

A Panamanian-flagged cargo ship ran aground in front of the port of Hachinohe in northeastern Japan on Wednesday.

Aerial footage shows the stern of the

severed and plunging into the sea alongside the other half of the ship, tilted slightly towards the water.

Three patrol boats and three planes were mobilized and "the 21 members of the crew - Chinese and Filipinos - were rescued," said a spokesman for the Japanese coast guard.

An oil leak

According to the latter, hydrocarbons from the boat flow over a distance of about 24 kilometers, without knowing the environmental impact for the moment.

Authorities tried to contain the oil spill, but failed to deploy the boom around the boat, he said.

"The patrollers will work all night" to avoid collisions, also explained the spokesman, adding that no other boat was to their knowledge involved in the accident.

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• Shipwreck

• Japan