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Japanese rescuers found a second crew member and several dead cows on Friday in waters where a cattle boat capsized and sank during a storm two days earlier, coast guard officials said. (The 10th Headquarters of the Japan Regional Coast Guard via AP)
TOKYO – Japanese rescuers found the second crew member and several dead cows on Friday in waters where a boat carrying thousands of New Zealand cows capsized and is believed to have sunk during a storm, coast guard officials said.
The man was found unconscious and floating face down about 120 kilometers (75 miles) northwest of Amami Oshima Island in the East China Sea, where rescuers have been searching for the Gulf Livestock 1 ship and its missing crew since it shipped. a distress signal early Wednesday. .
The man, whose nationality and crew status are unknown, was taken to a hospital but later pronounced dead, said Takahiro Yamada, a senior spokesman for the regional coast guard headquarters. He said rescuers also saw dozens of cow carcasses floating in the area. So far, he said he was not aware of reports of bodies reaching the Japanese coast.
The 11,947-ton ship, its 43 crew members and 5,800 cows left New Zealand in mid-August for Tangshan on the east coast of China.
New Zealand officials said on Friday they would temporarily suspend any new approval for the export of live cows after the incident. The Primary Industries Ministry said in a statement that it “wants to understand what happened while the Gulf Livestock 1 was underway.”
The Filipino crew member, CEO Edvardo Sareno, 45, was rescued Wednesday night.
Coast guard video shows rescuers carefully maneuvering their boat through rough waters to get Sareno out of the water safely. He told them that the ship stalled when an engine stalled, then capsized after being hit by a powerful side wave and sank.
In this image taken from a video posted by Japan’s 10th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, a crew member rescued from a Panamanian cargo ship grabs a bottle of water while speaking to members of the Japanese Coast Guard in front of Amami Oshima, Japan, on Wednesday, September 2. 2020. (The 10th Regional Headquarters of the Japan Coast Guard via AP)
Authorities quoted Sareno as saying that he put on a life jacket and jumped into the sea, and that he has not seen any other crew members since.
“Thank you, thank you very much,” Sareno told rescuers as they escorted him to a larger boat, where he sat on a blue tarp, wrapped in blankets and grabbed a bottle of water. “Am I the only one? No one else? He asked rescuers, then added,” I’m so sorry … (I’m) so lucky.
The total crew included 39 from the Philippines, two from New Zealand and two from Australia.
Rescuers in four boats, a plane and divers joined the search operations on Friday. A package of orange rope and a life jacket bearing the ship’s name were also recovered, according to a coast guard statement.
Typhoon Maysak was blowing through southern Japan at the time of the sinking. The ship’s automatic tracker showed it sailing in strong 58-knot (66 miles or 107 kilometers per hour) winds at its last known position, according to the ship-tracking website MarineTraffic.com.
“Our hearts go out to those on board and their families at this time. We also express our deep regret at the sad loss of livestock on board, ”the ship’s operator, Dubai-based Gulf Navigation Holdings PJSC, said in a statement. “We pray for other survivors.”
The company, which is listed on the Dubai financial market, says it owns and operates chemical tankers, cattle ships and other ships.
Another powerful typhoon approaches southern Japan over the weekend.
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