TOKYO: Thirteen crew members including seven Chinese nationals onboard a Belize-flagged cargo ship are missing after the ship collided with a fishing boat off Japan's northeastern prefecture of Aomori late Saturday, the Chinese consulate general in Sapporo said on Sunday (March 1). Guo Xing 1, the 1,989-ton cargo ship with 14 crew onboard, informed the Japanese side after it suffered a collision at around 10:17 p.m. local time Saturday about 12 km off the coast of Rokkasho. The collision caused water to enter the ship which sank at about 10.35pm local time. The 13 missing crew also included five Vietnamese and one Filipino. By 10:45 a.m. Sunday, Japan had dispatched six aircraft, six patrol ships and dozens of rescuers to carry out rescue operations, the consulate general said.

Source: The Star March 01, 2020 15:11 UTC