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The sister of one of 40 men who disappeared at sea near Japan has pleaded with authorities to resume the search, saying she believes her brother is alive eight days after his freighter sank in a typhoon.
William Mainprize, a 27-year-old Australian, was a large rancher aboard the football field-sized ship along with 42 other and 6,000 head of cattle when believed to have sunk off the coast of Amami Oshima Island in southwestern Japan.
His sister, Emily Hastings, described Mr. Mainprize as “the most loving person you will ever meet.”
He has been described as kind and compassionate. Pic: supplied
“For him not to be contributing to the world, for him to stop having his mark on him would be a serious tragedy, so we are really hoping that he is not and we are going to do everything we can to achieve the search. and rescue again, “he said.
Two survivors and a body have been found since the Gulf Livestock 1 ship capsized in 125 mph winds. Having found no one since last Friday, the Japanese coast guard stopped their search on Wednesday.
Sky News has seen the latest WhatsApp messages from Mainprize sent to his family, seeking to ease their concern about the approaching typhoon.
The last message was a reply to her sister Sarah asking her to tell them when she “got over it”, saying “it’s freaking me out”.
He replied, “I will Sar.”
“It should be fine! We are a big ship,” he added, before sending a message with the emoji of a wave and a ship.
These were the last messages the family received
Ms Hastings said that the WhatsApp family group is very active, so they “got really scared” when she got disconnected.
“He had also sent a message to his friends saying that the boat was floating on its side and absorbing water and that he was really scared,” he said.
It is believed that around this time, the typhoon swept through the ship, prompting a call for help. The rescued crewmen said the engine died and a large wave struck, causing the boat to capsize and sink.
Given that the two survivors said they were the last names that would be called to the control room after the distress call, Hastings said he has “reason to believe that with the lifeboats and the time Will had to prepare, he and many others really might still be there. “
“Survivors shared that they had life jackets on, and this was after the distress call, so they would have been ready to use lifeboats at that stage.”
He added that Mainprize was a “survivor”, who was on the boat to care for the cattle, but in his regular job he ran rescues and adventure travel in the Australian outback.
“If he is there, he would worry about the safety of others,” he said.
Mainprize is a “survivor,” his sister said. Photo: supplied
“He’s so kind and compassionate. This handsome, young 27-year-old man. I’m 18 months older than him and we were like twins growing up. If you spend time with him, you’ll feel like a better person.”
A petition to resume the search, initiated by the family of a 25-year-old New Zealander who is also missing, has garnered more than 8,000 signatures.
Ms. Hastings said that this support is “really supportive,” but that her family’s focus was to get authorities to act.
“All the support is really sustained right now,” he said. “Our real goal is to provoke search and rescue action. There are resources available to add to this. We just hope this generates action.
“We know that the search was suspended due to the weather, but to my knowledge, it is calm again, so we hope that the Japanese Coast Guard will begin their search again.”
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“This is an urgent issue and there are things that can and should be done. There is nothing to suggest that they are not there yet.”
Rescuers found an overturned and empty orange lifeboat floating in the sea, with no sign of anyone on board, as well as a life jacket and cattle carcasses near where the ship is believed to have sunk.
