Eight seamen were rescued and 17 others are missing after a
cargo ship of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) sank
on Tuesday afternoon off northeast China, local maritime sources
said.
The "Ryong Ak San", belonging to the DPRK fishery authorities,
sank near Laotiekou, Lushunkou District of Dalian, Liaoning Province, said the maritime rescue
center of Dalian.
It was on its way to the Jingtang Port in north China's Tianjin
from the DPRK's western port city of Haeju with 2,900 tons of ore
and 25 crew members aboard when it sank, it said. The vessel's
loading capacity is 3,000 tons.
"Five of those rescued are to stay in a hotel in Dalian," said
Guo Zirui, deputy director of the Liaoning Maritime Affairs
Bureau.
Guo gave each of the five, who were flown to Dalian by rescue
helicopter, new quilts and clothes at the door of the hotel.
Another two, who are en route to Dalian by ship, will stay in
the same hotel.
The other rescued seaman went to Tianjin aboard a rescue
vessel.
The Dalian maritime rescue center received a report from another
vessel, the "Guangyuan", at 3:08 PM saying a ship had suddenly
sunk one nautical mile ahead of it.
"An emergency operation was immediately launched to search for
the crew of the ship," said He Jianzhong, director of the
center.
A helicopter from the Beihai No. 1 Air Rescue Squad in Dalian
and rescue vessels from the Beihai Rescue Bureau were at the site,
said He, also vice mayor of Dalian.
The squad and the bureau are both under the Ministry of
Communications.
Hou Jinghua, director of the Liaoning Maritime Affairs Bureau,
went to the center to oversee rescue operations.
Li Shenglin, Minister of Communications, has instructed rescue
workers to make every effort to search for the missing seamen.
Contact with the DPRK via diplomatic channels is also underway.
The search for the missing seamen is still ongoing. "But strong
winds at the site have hindered rescue efforts," said He.
The cause of the accident is still unclear.
(Xinhua News Agency December 27, 2006)