Sunday, April 08, 2007

Sailor Missing After Freighter Sinks

A Japanese cargo ship went down early Saturday after colliding with a Cambodian freighter off Wakayama Prefecture in the Pacific, leaving one of the Japanese vessel's four crew members missing, the Japan Coast Guard said. The 313-ton Eifuku Maru No. 7 and the Cambodian-registered 1,208-ton Yin He No. 1, carrying a crew of 10, collided at around 5:15 a.m. about 4 km off the town of Susami.
The Yin He No. 1 that was badly damaged in the accident.
The coast guard dispatched a patrol boat to search for chief engineer Hideo Okamoto, 65, of the Eifuku Maru. The ship's three other crew members were rescued by a ship sailing nearby, the coast guard said. The Yin He sustained damage in six spots on its port side, but none of its Chinese crew was hurt, the coast guard said. It took on some water but could sail on its own.

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