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Dozens of people aboard a cargo ship have disappeared off the coast of Japan during Typhoon Maysak, and only one sailor has been discovered alive so far.
The ship, which was carrying thousands of cattle from New Zealand to China, was caught in the typhoon on Wednesday, CNN reported.
A distress signal was sent from the Gulf Livestock 1 registered in Panama early Wednesday morning, when it was about 115 miles off the coast of the Japanese island Amami Oshima, according to the outlet.
On board the ship were 43 people and 5,800 cows. Two of the crew members were from New Zealand, two from Australia and 39 from the Philippines, CNN reported.
The only survivor so far, identified by The New York Times like Sareno Edvardo from the Philippines, he told the Japanese Coast Guard that the 456-foot ship capsized in the storm.
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“When it was capsizing, an announcement on board told us to wear a life jacket,” Edvardo said, according to the NOW. “So I put on a life jacket and jumped into the sea.”
Edvardo was reportedly rescued on Wednesday night in good condition after being transferred to a hospital in Amami Oshima.
Among the missing sailors was Australian Lukas Orda, 25, 7News.com reported Thursday. Orda, from Queensland, is the father of a 6-month-old son.
Rescue efforts were scheduled to continue through Thursday.
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Typhoon Maysak peaked Tuesday with winds that reached 145 miles per hour, according to NASA’s Earth Observatory. Since then, the storm has made landfall in South Korea.
Animal rights activists say the missing ship exemplifies the reasons why livestock should not be transported by sea.
“These cows should never have been in the sea. To make matters worse, they are probably all pregnant,” Marianne Macdonald, campaign manager for SAFE New Zealand, said in a statement Wednesday.
“This is a real crisis, and our thoughts are with the families of the 43 crew members who are missing with the ship. But questions remain, including why this trade is allowed to continue,” Macdonald’s statement continued. “This is a high-risk trade that puts the lives of animals at risk, so the export of live animals should be prohibited.”
Video: New Zealand cattle boat missing in storm off Japan (Reuters)
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