UPDATE (2:35 p.m.): Additional crew members were found. Currently, 14 out of 22 crew members are accounted for, with eight men still lost at sea.
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A cargo ship sank in the East China Sea early Wednesday (Jan. 25) morning, with 22 crew members on board. A search is ongoing for 18 of the missing crew members.
The cargo ship, named the Jin Tian and registered in Hong Kong, dispatched a distress signal at around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. Some crew members boarded an emergency lifeboat at 2:40 p.m.
The Jin Tian was completely submerged about six minutes later, according to a Japanese media report. Three civilian ships were the first to reach the scene; a Japanese research vessel, a Libyan oil tanker, and a Chinese cargo ship, reported UDN.
The crew of the Jin Tian was comprised of 14 Chinese and eight Burmese members. At the time of publication, only four of the Chinese crewmen were successfully rescued.
The Jin Tian reportedly sank at a location approximately 148 km southeast of South Korea’s Jeju Island, and 110 km west of the Danjo Islands of Japan’s Nagasaki Prefecture, reported LTN. The Japan Coast Guard was only able to rescue four of the Chinese crewmen.
The reason that the Jin Tian sank is still under investigation, per the Japan Coast Guard. According to VesselFinder, the ship was built in 2010 and was en route to Incheon, South Korea.
