Thirteen crew members were rescued on Wednesday from a cargo ship that sank off southwestern Japan during fierce winter winds, as planes and ships, including private vessels, searched for the remaining nine.
The Japan Coast Guard said the vessel, the 6,651-tonne Hong Kong-registered “Jintian”, issued a distress call late Tuesday.
Media reported that a person on the ship said it was listing and taking on water, and later reports said that 22 crew members – all Chinese or Myanmar nationals – had been transferred to lifeboats.
There was no immediate information about the reason for the capsizing of the timber vessel. A Coast Guard spokesman said the winds were strong when the distress signal was received at around 11:15 pm on Tuesday night.
Top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said the coast guard immediately called for assistance from patrol ships and aircraft west of the city of Nagasaki.