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A fishing boat with 19 people on board has sunk in the Barents Sea on the Russian side near Novaya Semlya in Arkhangelsk. Two people have been rescued, the rest are missing.
According to the Russian news agency Tass, it is the fishing boat Onega that has Murmansk as its base port that has sunk. The last time the ship was in port was in Kirkenes on December 14.
Authorities were notified of the accident at 5.30 a.m. on Monday.
The main rescue center in northern Norway informs NTB that their Russian colleagues notified them of the accident, but that they will not take any action as it happened in Russian waters.
There are strong winds and bad weather in the area, which increases the risk of ice formation.
At least five ships in search
Russian authorities warn that five ships have been sent to the area and are conducting search work. According to the Russian Crisis Ministry, the ship sank due to the formation of ice.
Five ships have been sent to search for the crew. So far, two people have been picked up alive, wearing wet suits, but not with the rest, a crisis ministry source tells Tass.
Onega is a fishing boat that has been sailing since 1979 and has a capacity of 358 tons.
Russian crew
The two people rescued alive from the water are Russian citizens. The rest of the crew are also Russians.
The Crisis Ministry claims that meteorologists had warned of the danger of icing in the area.
The boat was fishing.
