TOKYO: Two people died and nine were missing after a cargo ship sank off south-western Japan on Wednesday amid fierce winter winds, the country’s coast guard said, as it continued to search for survivors.

Six people who were rescued remained unconscious, while five had revived, the coast guard said.

The 6,651-tonne Hong Kong-registered Jintian, which had 22 crew on board who were Chinese or Myanmar nationals, had issued a distress call late on Tuesday.

The area where the ship sank is between Nagasaki and South Korea’s Jeju island, where hundreds of flights were cancelled because of harsh weather.

Media reports cited a person who had been on the ship as saying it had listed and took on water, and that all the crew had been transferred to lifeboats.

A coast guard spokesperson said winds were strong at the time. The vessel was carrying lumber from Malaysia to Incheon, South Korea.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2023